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The British Fair Trade Movement, 1960 - 2000: a New Form of Global Citizenship?

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The British Fair Trade Movement, 1960 - 2000: a New Form of Global Citizenship? CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository The British Fair Trade Movement, 1960 - 2000: a new form of global citizenship? By Matthew Anderson A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Modern History School of History and Cultures The University of Birmingham September 2008 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Acknowledgements This thesis was made possible thanks to a 1+3 Studentship Award funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). I am also grateful to Graduate School at The University of Birmingham for the award of a Universitas 21 travel scholarship for research at Melbourne University. I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Matthew Hilton, for the support and guidance that has helped to maintain my enthusiasm for this research, and to Sophie Bostock for her encouragement and understanding throughout. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and volunteers from Oxfam, Christian Aid, CAFOD, the Methodist Development Relief Fund, Traidcraft, Twin Trading, the Co-operative and the Fairtrade Foundation, who put their own time and effort into assisting this research project. I would also like to extend my thanks to these organisations for agreeing to open their archives for academic research. In particular, I would like to thank Richard Adams, John Boyle, Barbara Crowther, Bruce Crowther, Rosie Dodd, George Gelber, Brad Hill, Gillian Lonergan, Roy Scott, Michael Taylor and Carol Wills for their help and encouragement. i Contents page List of abbreviations iii Introduction: A New International ‘Moral Economy’? 1 Chapter one: ‘Cost of a Cup of Tea’ 23 Fair Trade and the British Co-operative Movement Chapter two: Oxfam: Helping by Selling? 45 Fair Trade and International Development Chapter three: Christian Ethics Secularised or Economics Re-Sacralised? 63 Fair Trade and Christian Voluntary Groups Chapter four: ‘Where Were You, Brother?’ 83 Fair Trade and the Trade Union Congress Chapter five: ‘Shopping For a Better World’ 106 Fair Trade Enters Mainstream Consumer Markets Conclusions: A New Direction for Consumer Politics? 125 Appendix 149 Bibliography 157 ii Abbreviations ACP African Caribbean and Pacific countries ATO Alternative Trade Organisation CA Consumers’ Association CAFOD Catholic Action for Overseas Development CAP Common Agricultural Policy CI Consumers International CU Consumers’ Union CWS Co-operative Wholesale Society DFID Department for International Development ECRA Ethical Consumer Research Association EFTA European Fair Trade Association ETI Ethical Trading Initiative FLO Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International FTF Fairtrade Foundation FTM Fairtrade Mark HbS Helping by Selling ICA International Coffee Agreement ICFTU International Confederation of Free Trade Unions IFAT International Fair Trade Association (formerly International Federation for Alternative Trade) IOCU International Organisation of Consumer’ Unions (later CI) ISEDC International Small Enterprise Development Centre ITUC International Trade Union Confederation NEWS Network of European World Shops NGO Non-Governmental Organisation MNC Multinational Company OA Oxfam Activities OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OT Oxfam Trading OXFAM Oxford Committee for Famine Relief STABEX Stabilisation of Export earnings TEAR Fund The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund TWIN Third World International Network TNC Transnational Company TUC Trade Union Congress UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development WCC World Council of Churches WCL World Confederation of Labour WFTO World Fair Trade Organization WFTU World Federation of Trade Unions WTO World Trade Organisation iii Introduction A New International ‘Moral Economy’? Fairtrade has been hailed as one of the retail success stories of the past decade. Sales of Fairtrade products have significantly out-performed retail analysts’ most optimistic predictions in recent years, reaching £500 million in 2007.1 Britain is now firmly established as the leading European Fairtrade market,2 fuelling media speculation as to why Fairtrade has taken root so firmly. Many commentators have looked to the British consumer in answering this question. Journalists have reported that, ‘Britons over the past decade have become a nation of ethical shoppers.’3 Some have looked to investigate, ‘How consumer power sparked a Fairtrade revolution on our high streets.’4 Fairtrade’s success in mobilising consumer support has certainly been impressive, but is this the full story? This thesis will question whether consumer demand alone can really provide an adequate explanation for the growth of Fairtrade in Britain. By adopting a methodology that looks beyond the ‘ethical shopping trolley’, a wider Fair Trade social movement is revealed, grounded in the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and alternative trade organisations (ATOs).5 I will argue that the emergence of Fair Trade in late twentieth century Britain has only partly been the result of ‘the market’ responding to consumer demand. Of greater significance, although often overlooked, was the role of the social movement that successfully began to integrate political consumerism within its international development campaigns.6 Public surveys of consumer behaviour in relation to Fair Trade and ethical foods have attempted to define ‘the ethical consumer’ based on socio-demographic factors such as 1 Mintel, Attitudes Towards Ethical Foods, Market Intelligence, (August 2006). 2 See Appendix Figures 1 and 2. 3 L. Jones, ‘How Fair Trade hit the mainstream’, BBC News (2 March 2004). 4 T. Macalister, ‘How consumer power sparked a Fairtrade revolution on our high streets’, The Guardian (8 March 2006). 5 A note on terminology: Fair Trade movement refers to the collection of civil society groups, producer organisations, certification bodies and consumers that work on or participate in Fair Trade initiatives involving agricultural products and also non-food items including handicrafts. Fairtrade or FAIRTRADE Mark relates specifically to the Fairtrade Foundation (the certifying body in the UK). 6 A. Nicholls, ‘Strategic options in Fair Trade retailing’, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 30, 1 (2002), pp. 6 – 17. 1 age, gender and social class.7 Market research studies tend to describe the purchase of Fair Trade products as a lifestyle choice for those that can afford it, highlighting the importance of the more affluent ‘middle-classes’, with high disposable income.8 Consumers may be asked about price, quality, brand image and product attributes, but surveys rarely gain a sense of the consumer’s ‘world view’. Published quantitative surveys do not include broader questions about a Fair Trade shopper’s political views, religious beliefs or the extent of their involvement with related organisations and networks. But as I will argue in this thesis, it is these factors that are essential in gaining an understanding of the driving forces behind the Fair Trade movement. It is difficult to know whether the absence of questions about religious and political motivations has been a deliberate omission; is it that these influences are too complex, or are not perceived to have commercial marketing applications? This thesis will argue that it is essential to look at the role of the consumer within the context of social networks, in spite of the complexities. By broadening the scope of the analysis beyond the individual consumer, the presence of a Fair Trade social movement based on a network of non- governmental organisations (NGOs), alternative trading organisations (ATOs) and religious groups is revealed. This movement has contributed to all aspects of Fair Trade from launching international trading ventures, providing assistance to producers, setting up church stalls, campaigning on the streets and lobbying government. The main focus for much of the recent academic work on Fair Trade has been either on supply chain analysis or impact assessment of Fairtrade certification on the livelihood of producers in the global South.9 But this has led to something of an imbalance in terms of understanding the workings of Fair Trade companies and campaigners. There is now a need for detailed academic study of those organisations involved in Fair Trade in the global North. This thesis does not set out to provide a business history of Fair Trade, although there is scope for further research into the practical experiences of Fair Trade 7 The Co-operative Bank, The Ethical Consumerism Report (2007). 8 Mintel, Attitudes Towards Ethical Foods. 9 S. Barrientos & C. Dolan, Ethical Sourcing in the Global Food System, (London: Earthscan, 2006); D. Jaffee, Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival, (Berkley: University of California Press 2007); L. Raynolds, D. Murray and J. Wilkinson, Fair Trade:
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