Fair Trade from the West to the East A literature review on consumer attitudes and beliefs towards Fair Trade products in the United Kingdom and Japan from a cross-cultural perspective. Bachelor’s Thesis Tilburg School of Humanities Tilburg University Michael Vu (SNR: 1266674) University College Tilburg: Liberal Arts and Sciences, Business & Management Major – Class of 2017 Under the supervision of dr. R.B.J.M. Welten, Associate Professor at Tilburg School of Humanities, Department of Philosophy Also read by dr. A.A.C.J. van Oijen, Associate Professor at Tilburg School of Economics and Management, Department of Management # of words: 15,780 Abstract This aim of this thesis is to investigate whether cultures have an effect on ethical consumer behavior in overall through a literature review, by which the attitudes and beliefs of British and Japanese consumers towards Fair Trade products have been analyzed and compared with each other. This is done to identify possible differences that may determine the influence of culture on ethical consumer behavior. Additionally, the argument of globalization has been explained and urged to conduct research on consumer behavior across cultures, which also includes that from an ethical viewpoint. Major concepts of this thesis, which are that of culture, ethical consumption, and Fair Trade respectively, have been further elaborated upon in line with the aim mentioned above. From the findings, it concludes that, despite the limited amount of (academic) literature available, culture does affect the attitudes and beliefs of a consumer, and so, ethical consumer behavior as well. More research is advised to support this conclusion better. Keywords: Fair Trade, consumer behavior, attitudes, beliefs, United Kingdom, Japan, cross- cultural analysis, globalization Acknowledgements On the first hand, I would like to thank prof. Welten for sticking with me until the very end, as well as prof. van Oijen to some extent. Also, I would like to thank my parents, younger brother, friends, relatives, fellow seniors, juniors, academic staff, and other acquaintances for giving me motivation and lending me an ear for this project and other (trivial) topics too. Lastly, I want to thank God for everything so far and for what is to come in my journey as well. ii Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... iii 1 – Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 – Background .................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.1 – Globalization ............................................................................................................ 4 1.2 – Problem statement & research questions ...................................................................... 6 1.3 – Conceptual model .......................................................................................................... 6 1.4 – Relevance ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.5 – Research design & data collection ................................................................................. 9 1.6 – Structure ...................................................................................................................... 10 2 – Theoretical framework ....................................................................................................... 11 2.1 – Culture .......................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 – Ethical consumption ................................................................................................... 13 2.3 – Fair Trade .................................................................................................................... 16 2.3.1 – Definition .............................................................................................................. 16 2.3.2 – Historical overview ............................................................................................... 18 2.3.3 – Socio-economic analysis....................................................................................... 25 iii 2.3.4 – Criticism ............................................................................................................... 27 3 – Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 31 3.1 – United Kingdom .......................................................................................................... 31 3.2 – Japan ........................................................................................................................... 33 4 – Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 38 5 – Limitations & further research .......................................................................................... 39 6 – References ......................................................................................................................... 40 7 – Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 51 7.1 – Appendix A .................................................................................................................. 51 7.2 – Appendix B .................................................................................................................. 52 7.3 – Appendix C .................................................................................................................. 53 7.4 – Appendix D .................................................................................................................. 54 7.5 – Appendix E .................................................................................................................. 55 iv 1 – Introduction First and foremost, this paper is written as an assignment for the course ‘Bachelorthesis LAS’ (840900), which is part of the final semester of the study program of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Tilburg University. In this bachelor program, it is possible for students to combine “different scientific disciplines to understand complex global issues and to look for creative solutions” (Tilburg University, 2017). Being that, I have decided to conduct a comparative study on consumer behavior in Japan and the West. The reasons why Japan is selected is that I have been on exchange in Tokyo, which was during the fall semester of 2016. During my stay in Japan, I noticed during grocery shopping after I was done with my classes that the amount of Fair Trade products placed on the shelves is much smaller than my expectations were, especially in comparison to the supermarkets in the Netherlands that I frequent before and after my exchange. This has surprised me to the extent that I was and still am very intrigued by it, as the attitude and beliefs of the Japanese obviously differ from the West, on how they approach and consume consciously. To name a few personal examples of mine are the strong emphasis on and the unexpectedly enormous offering of local products with the motivation to boost their economy by buying them; and the strict recycling laws that I had to obey, as I would be fined if I did not. Despite mentioning these, the concept of Fair Trade is not popular in Japan, going thus against the expectations as stated before. During the process of writing this, the realization occurred to me that people in Western countries do also approach and consume consciously, which made me wonder why I did not have that impression at first of the West in this respect. All in all, it eventually persuaded me to do my bachelor thesis on the need that emerged from globalization to understand other cultures, by zooming in on ethical consumer behavior between the United Kingdom, home to the Fair Trade movement and the biggest consuming market of Fair Trade products, and Japan with a focus on their attitudes and beliefs towards the latter. 1 1.1 – Background People are brought up with certain models and mindsets, which are bound to the culture that we are raised in. These so-called ‘cultural models’ enable us to structure and comprehend what we perceive in today’s societies and communities, as they consist of concepts and procedures that are embedded and traceable in our daily lives and the perception of the latter (Fryberg & Markus, 2007; Fryberg & Rhys, 2007). It gives us the ability to judge something, whether it is an action or a decision, is correct or not (Fryberg & Rhys, 2007). In other words, what we uphold as right or wrong is defined and confined by “the social, historical, and cultural experiences of a society” (Pacquiao, 2001, p.12). Consequently, culture, with its models and experiences, does influence on how we act, decide, and behave in certain situations; and more importantly, how these are done rightfully in our eyes. Furthermore,