University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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(www.fairtrade.net). Different level of integration to fair trade can be observed. This
study aims to denote different levels of fair trade awareness and willingness in
Austrian and Turkish market examples.
Literature Review
The term “Fair Trade” refers the fair exchange of money and goods (like coffee, tea,
cacao, banana, cotton, textile, mines etc.). Although fair trade production could be in
a wide diverse field of operation from shoe producing to mining, usually the
agricultural production is associated with fair trade, since they are produced with
very high number of working hours and more easily distinguished by the retail
customers.
Although there is a lack of well agreed definition among the organizations, NGOs
dealing with fair trade and academicians, almost all of them agree on some of the
basic details of fair trade. Fair trade is defined by FLO (Fair Trade Labeling
Organizations International) and IFAT (International Federation for Alternative
Trade as; “…a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect,
which seeks greater equity in international trade” (www.wfto.com,
www.fairtrade.net). Most of the definitions emphasize “partnership” between fair
trade producers and the companies, which are usually described as transparent,
mutually respected, long term and sustainable relationships (Hira& Ferrie, 2006;
Moore, 2004; McDonagh, 2002; Nicholls, 2002). In practice, there are examples of
partnerships in the legal structure of the companies as well (Doherty&Tranchell,
2005). Fair trade is also defined as the transaction which finally aims to balance the
gap between the developed and the developing economies (Strong, 1996). But it
seems to be a long term objective and a very hard one to accomplish.
From the marketing point of view, fair trade is a growing potential as a niche market
(Nicholls, 2002). Some of the companies take fair trade as a future perspective for
sustainable economy, while others prefer to aim for higher profit margins and ignore
their responsibility to their consumers as well as their suppliers. In a larger
perspective, fair trade is the company’s guarantee of securing and auditing whole
supply and production process and taking the full responsibility of what they deliver
to their consumers (Blowfield, 2003).
Although ethical trade and fair trade concepts are two different concepts, the
definitions can be confused sometimes (Tollens, 2003). Especially in markets like the
UK, ethical trade refers to ensuring the working conditions (Smith& Barrientos,
2005). While the fair payment aspect of fair trade is highlighted, the substitution of
the ethical trade could be understood. Although fair payment is related to most of the
concerns of fair trade, fair payment and working conditions are not the only aspect of
it.
Fair payment is the amount which at least covers the cost of sustainable production
and living (Doherty&Tranchell, 2005). The minimum price paid for the products are
established by fair trade organizations, different by the type, quality and additional
features of the products (such as organic or shade grown etc.) (www.fairtrade.net).