Placing the distant other on the shelf : an analysis and comparison of (fair trade) coffee packages in relation to commodity fetishism

Fair trade has been praised for ‘de-fetishizing’ commodities by providing consumers with information on the production of the commodity. Various empirical studies of fair trade marketing materials have generated critique of this vision. However, these focused on materials produced by engaged fair trade organizations. As the fair trade concept has entered the mainstream, fair trade products have found their way into supermarkets. In this setting, these products are confronted with competition, both internal (with other fair trade products) and external (with non-fair trade products). In this article, we argue for a broader focus when studying the relationship between fair trade and defetishization. Our argument is based on a study of whether and how defetishization is advanced on packages of ground coffee within the retail landscape of Flanders, Belgium. Several categories of packages can be distinguished, based on brand (e.g., fair trade advocate, regular brand, retailer house brand) and label (e.g. fair trade label; other social label; no label, but origin is emphasized in the product name). We demonstrate the difficulty of distinguishing these packages based on the visual and textual information they carry (beyond the label), which complicates the identification of any clearly distinct ‘fair trade message’ on these packages. Instead of serving a clear ‘defetishizing’ function, these messages are mixed, interchanged, and adapted. We argue that this could be a direct consequence of perceived or actual changes in the consumer publics inherent to the mainstreaming of fair trade

The evolution of the discourse of a Belgian fair trade organization: a two-dimensional history

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a detailed account of the evolution of the fair trade discourse of a Belgian fair trade organization, with a specific focus on the changes in the combination of the organization’s trade and social (movement) dimensions. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on an analysis of the organization’s discourse as found in the member magazine in four different time periods. These four periods cover different phases in the life-history of the organization and in the broader fair trade field. Findings: Throughout the organization’s history, both social (movement) and trade dimensions know drastic changes, also in their mutual relationship. In the earliest history, trade practices are clearly subordinate to goals of socialist inspired societal change, while in the more recent history, trade has permeated the entire discourse, putting the trade dimension in a more central position. However, both dimensions seem to evolve in a connected way, as the discourse shows clear similarities on both, and evolutions can be related to changes in the organization’s broader field. Originality/value: Focusing upon the discourse of a specific fair trade organization breaks with a tradition of broad notions of fair trade-history. Moreover, this case also provides insight into the evolution of the mix of both social and economic dimensions within a specific organization, and connects this to evolutions in the broader (fair trade) field