Trust In Fairtrade: The 'Feel-Good' Effect

Abstract

Fairtrade is nurtured with stories aimed at making consumers feel good by buying Fairtrade products. This ‘feel-good’ factor may vary when it is found that, the proportional division of the benefits between producer and other potential gainers is biased towards the distributors. There is, therefore, an incentive to verify whether the trust accorded to Fairtrade is justified. If trust and therefore the feel-good factor are undermined or enhanced as a result of the validation of the stories, then the whole Fairtrade movement could potentially crumble or burgeon. Drawing on elements in Glaeser (2005)’s model, this paper analyses the factors behind the recent expansion of Fairtrade.Fairtrade