The Challenges of Marketing Fair Trade - Wynne, Sandy

they are enjoying the benefits of those investments. Retailers who are 100% Fair Trade
committed often want to be distinguished from other retailers who carry one or two
certified products, arguing that anything short of a full commitment is hypocritical.
“TFUSA is paying a lot of attention to large companies with meager commitments to fair
trade," says Dean's Beans founder Dean Cycon, "and not paying a lot of attention to the
dedicated people who are 80 to 100 percent fair trade” (Dicum, 2006).
The pressure to fill the demand for more products and new product lines
generated by MNCs may cause FLO to include plantations and factories. This paradigm
shift is a serious concern for small scale farmers. A handful of MNCs control the bulk of
the global market for various commodities. Five MNCs, Kraft, Sara Lee, Nestle, Proctor
& Gamble, Tchibo, control almost half of the entire world’s coffee market (Fridell, 2007,
p.117). Three MNCs, Chiquita, Del Monte and Dole, dominate the world’s banana
market, controlling the entire supply chain, from ownership of the plantations through
processing, shipping, distribution and marketing (Raynolds et al., 2007, p.67). FLO
requires small scale coffee farmers to organize as cooperatives (Nicholls & Opal 2005).
Along with cooperatives being challenged by the possible inclusion of plantations and
factories, the rapid growth of Fair Trade may put strains on the entire Fair Trade system,
challenging its ability to certify and monitor the supply chain (Raynolds et al., 2007).
While mainstreaming has raised concerns, Fair Trade’s entry into the mainstream
marketplace is a key to Fair Trade’s impressive growth. With Fair Trade Certified
coffee imports going from less than 1 million pounds in 1998 to almost 70 million in
2006 (Conroy, 2007, p.108), it is hard to ignore the impact that MNCs like Starbucks
have had on Fair Trade growth. Starbucks imported 18 million pounds of certified coffee
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