An investigation of consumers' knowledge and perceptions of Fairtrade coffee and its implications for small-scale farmers in the supply chain

: an empirical study of the German market for Fairtrade coffee

Abstract

Fairtrade International certified coffee aims to make coffee production in the Southern Hemisphere more sustainable (a market-based response to environmental and human rights violations in supply chains). Existing literature often emphasizes that Fairtrade fails to lift farmers out of poverty and frames these inefficiencies as so-called 'pitfalls'. This paper aims to identify potential weaknesses and pitfalls in the supply chain of Fairtrade coffee. Additionally, the research determines consumers’ level of knowledge about Fairtrade coffee and its influence on the livelihood of small holder farmers in the South. To answer the research questions, a quantitative study was conducted among 412 German coffee drinkers on their attitudes towards Fairtrade coffee and their understanding of supplychain conditions. The findings confirmed all the weaknesses and suggested that consumers have insufficient knowledge about Fairtrade and its implications. This lack of knowledge leads to misconceptions and causes an imbalance of demand and supply that facilitates the pitfalls of the Fairtrade label. It can be concluded that awareness in society and understanding of Fairtrade need to be improved in order to increase demand and thus resolve its weaknesses.

Date of Award	24 Jan 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Moreira da Cruz (Supervisor)