...and taking ownership and accountability for results, success and failure and by having social stewardship and demonstrating good corporate citizenship and responsibility to all constituencies all encompasses the overall tone of the how they would like the public to see them. (Farfan) Considering that the Social Progress Index's ultimate mission is global advancement, it is difficult to dismiss any of Dunkin' Brand's values as they all are relatively important to guide the company in achieving overall progress in numerous areas. However, their goals of "Integrity" and "Fairness" are perhaps best demonstrated in Dunkin' Brand’s practice of "Fair Trade". Fair trade buying is a specific type of ethical consumer behavior. Fair trade incorporates fair prices for the products of farmers in developing countries. In essence, fair trade means buying products...
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...America Latin America, a country known for its potent and fertile soil, is often taken advantage of by larger and more highly-developed countries because of its vast landscape and their lower tax rates. With the growing spotlight on moral and ethical business practices, the issue of fair trading has now come down to company’s marketing ploys. Companies, such as Target and Starbucks, use their fair trade practices to market themselves to more environmentally centered people. The issue of fair trade practices in Latin America stems from the countries past issues with unethical treatment, pay, and conditions for workers. According to the Stanford Social, the history of fair trade goes all the way back to the origins of bartering for goods back in the 16th century used while colonizing countries and trading with the indigenous people (Haight). In the eighteen hundreds, companies like the Dutch East India Company, “operated for the benefit of the mother country in “the colonies,” and were afforded monopoly privileges and protected from local competition by tariffs.” (Haight) These business practices made trading with underdeveloped countries unfair and often harsh. In the nineteen sixties, the fair-trade practices...
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...promoting environmental, political, and social justice around the world, Global Exchange criticized Starbucks for profiting at the farmer’s expense by paying low prices and not buying “fair trade” beans. Not only did the activists disrupt the company’s annual meeting to the point that the convention hall security police asked the activists to leave, but they also threatened a national boycott if the company refused to sell and promote fair trade coffee. Although Smith strongly disagreed with using the shareholders meeting as a public forum, he knew there was a strong likelihood his company could face serious reprisals if it did not address the issues raised by Global Exchange. Fair trade began after World War II as religiously–affiliated, non-profit organizations purchased handmade products for resale from European producers. During the 1970s and 1980s, the concept evolved further into buying crafts from low-income, third-world producers at a “fair” price and selling those products in Western markets.1 Fair trade was an economic model based on fair labor compensation and mutual respect between producers and consumers. By the late 1990s, the fair trade movement had gained a foothold in the United States, and in early 1999, TransFair USA, a third party certification agency, launched its Fair Trade Certified coffee label. During...
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...In this e-mail name, address, type of education and contact person should be mentioned as well as an estimation of the number of students using the case. The case can be downloaded for free on www.hbodio.nl Coordination: Daniël van Middelkoop: Martin Oyevaar: d.vanmiddelkoop@aliceo.nl m.oyevaar@aliceo.nl October 2007 www.hbodio.nl/english 3 Contents Introduction ..............................................................................................................5 Background ...............................................................................................................6 1. Corporate Social Responsibility and the coffee sector ......................7 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 8. Fair Trade...........................................................................................................7 What is Corporate Social Responsibility? .........................................................7 Max Havelaar.......................................................................................................8 What about CSR in the coffee sector? ...............................................................9 The...
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...The world’s consumers have increasingly become aware of the true costs involved in the production and distribution of an item. Currently, there is a dire need to realize the historically ignored social, environmental, and personal impact throughout the supply chain. Ethical supply chain management in the coffee industry has been addressed through the implementation of the Fair Trade program. This program ensures that coffee bean growers in impoverished countries receive a reasonable wage for their harvest (www.globalexchange.org). In the past, market fluctuation, bean surpluses, and currency disparity severely affected growers’ income worldwide. With such an enormous global demand for coffee, it is sound business practice to compensate these workers fairly and encourage sustainable farming practices. This will decrease the environmental damage caused by the production of beans, leading to a more secure crop supply – positively impacting the coffee market at large. 2. A recent study by the UK’s Institute of Grocery Distribution determined that the majority of consumers do not buy fair trade products. The report noted, “self-interest is at the center of food choice for most consumers. Few consumers consider the impact of their purchase decisions on anyone or anything but themselves and their family.” Do you agree with this finding? I completely agree with this finding and feel that for the majority of consumers, it is the proper course of action. It would be grand if every person...
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...Introduction P4 In this assignment I will be looking at the ethical concerns facing the communities in which Divine Chocolate operate in. The main ethical concerns for Divine Chocolate would be globalisation, cultural imperialism, ecological issues, fair trade, child labour and exploitation. The main communities in which divine would operate in would be Local which would be the Ghanian communities which would be the people living in Ghana such as families and local businesses, Kuapa Kokoo which would be the farmers who harvest the coco beans and communities around the UK and Germany which again would be people living there and businesses run. Other communities would be regional and national which would be UK and Ghanaian governments. The final community would be international this would look at fair-trade organisations such as (FTO), United nation, European Union and finally pressure groups such as green piece. Ethical Concerns The main ethical concerns which I will be using will be globalisation, cultural imperialism, ecological issues, fair trade, child labour and exploitation. I will give a brief description of each ethical concern first and then cover how they affect different communities in which Divine operates in. Globalisation – This ethical concern allows businesses and people from all over the world to communicate with each other and do business as technology is always developing. It gives businesses the opportunity to sell products and make a profit at the...
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...evidence from the literature with regard to the actual impact of the system. The results show that the standards set by Fairtrade are actually fair for their farmers, however a lack of transparency and traceability hinders their proper implementation. Furthermore, Fairtrade standards appear to have even negative effects on farmers that are not part of their organisation caused by rough price competitions as well as on the society as a whole since it hinders an autonomous development of the poor nations. Key Words: Fair Trade, Standards, Developing countries, Livelihood 1 1. Introduction The rising globalization has brought a lot of opportunities to developing countries since their agricultural products can now easily be purchased from all over the world. Due to poor economic, social and political conditions, their producers are however often underpaid and treated badly, while major corporations make the most profit out of it. While moral concerns about the origin of products are arising more and more within the last centuries in the western world, the willingness to pay extra for good worker treatment is of high interest for international trade. With the aim to support the poorest, Fairtrade international has been established in the 1980ies. Their idea is to offer producers a better deal and improved terms of trade by building partnerships between producers in developing countries and consumers in developed countries. The developing...
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...and the environment. The government can control the output of products that aren’t the best for us. In other countries such as Europe, the government requires food manufacturers to label genetically modified ingredients (GMO) on the back of any food product that may contain them. With laws that govern the usage of food additives and GMO’s, consumers can then “vote with their dollars”, having a big influence on what type of items will be produced. I think the fair trade philosophy is most ideal in todays world. Educated consumers want to buy products that are manufactured with no cruelty and where equal rights for the people who construct the products, are incorporated in their daily activity. In 2011, Apple was the headline of many news article that spoke about the conditions of the factories where Apple products are produced. Many people were disgusted with the way workers in the Foxconn factories where treated with even reports of people committing suicide because of the brutal work conditions. I think the fair trade philosophy will work great for the global economy because it will create better work environments for manufacturing facilities, causing more consumers to feel guilt free about purchasing products from companies that have...
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...britain ’s bruisin g banana wars Why ch threat eap bananas Policy en farmers’ report future s A Fairtrade Foundation Report February 2014 When I sell a box of bananas it’s a product with quality, with incredible taste, so it should be fair that you pay a fair price for it. Horatio Hernandez Coobafrio Co-operative, Magdalena, Colombia January 2014 contents 1 Introduction 4 2 6 Executive Summary Britain’s Bruising Banana Wars 16 16 20 21 4 The banana value chain 4.1 The UK banana market 4.2 The retail price of bananas in Britain 4.3 UK banana imports 2002 – 2013 4.4 Changes in banana supply chain operations 4.5 The impact of supermarket price wars on producers 4.6 Producer prices vs costs of sustainable production 22 22 23 5 The market environment for bananas 5.1 Evolution of the global banana trade 5.2 Consolidation of retailer power and UK price wars 5.3 The impact of competition law on banana prices 38 6 Fairtrade’s alternative approach 6.1 General background to the Fairtrade system 6.2 Fairtrade bananas – scope and scale 6.3 airtrade: the benefits and F constraints for farmers and workers 2 3 About this report 3.1 Fairtrade’s involvement in bananas 3.2 Research objectives and approach 3.3 Methodological note 7 Achieving a sustainable banana industry 7.1 inclusive market An ...
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...what pesticides are used to grow flowers. According to a Guardian report (Siegle, 2012), 12 different pesticides are used to help flowers grow in Columbia. Furthermore, some flower farmers use toxic pesticides which are banned in industrialized nations in Ethiopia. Moreover, the issues over the carbon foot print have been increased as the use of air-freighted flowers increased (Siegle, 2006). With issues over pesticides and carbon foot print, water shortage, impacts of greenhouses on landscape, and packaging issues were also being associated with the cut flower industry. Social issues Besides the environmental problems, social issues such as low wages, health and safety issues and labour rights are also being associated with the cut flower industry. In Colombia, flower farmers are exposed to systematic labour abuses and toxic chemicals exposure remains an important concern among farmers. Health issues persist as farmers are forced to work double shifts to meet consumers’ demand with depressing labor rights. The flower industry is comprised of between 65-75 percent of women workers, women’s issues such as sexual harassment and compulsory pregnancy testing tend to be pressing (Holt and Watson, 2008). Furthermore, issues over the lack of permanent employment have been raised. Flower workers are hired by “cooperatives” and they get only temporary work contracts limited to only one to three months. Fair Trade and some solutions All these problems are cannot be covered...
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...Overview: The coffee industry has a lot of challenges nowadays. Such problems as oversupply and the drop of wholesale price can lead to many disputes around the world. This drop in prices is definitely having a negative impact on the supplying countries’ economies. The Fair-trade label is supposed to treat the issue of ethical standards, but customers buying coffee need to care about the fair-trade along with those who invents and promotes it. 1. Is it important for coffee marketers, such as Starbucks, Kraft, and Nestle, to create “ethical supply chains”? Why? It is important for coffee marketers to create an “ethical supply chain.” If people know that companies work in an ethical way it should attract more customers. The customers would expect that they would be treated the same fair and ethical way as suppliers of the market. It would be easier for these companies to expand globally because new countries would be more open for business relationship with ethically sensitive corporations. 2. A recent study by the U.K.’s Institute of Grocery Distribution determined that the majority of consumers do not buy fair-trade products. The report noted, “Self-interest is at the center of food choice for most consumers. Few consumers consider the impact of their purchase decisions on anyone or anything but themselves and their family.” Do you agree with this finding? I agree. People can tend to be selfish in their nature. A lot of people in the world do not have “decent” incomes...
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...suitable country for Anur to expand in 4 3. In depth market analysis 8 4. Company, sales and marketing goals 13 5. How does Anur have to enter the foreign market? 14 6. Account Plan 19 7. Choosing the most suitable fair for Anur to exhibit on 23 8. Trade Fair Concept 29 9. Return on investment 46 List of resources 47 Annexes 49 Interview with a person in the Muslim community 50 Observations Anuga Food Tec, Cologne 51 Interviews Anuga Food Tec, Cologne 61 Observations Ethnic Foods Europe, Brussels 79 1. Case study of Anur Anur is a Dutch food company, specialized in frozen food products which focus on Muslim consumers. In the Netherlands, Anur has become one of the market leaders in Halal snacks. Anur has decided to internationalise their activities. The primary goal is to achieve a higher market share in one European country. Anur has selected a consulting firm to help them make two major choices: 1. The selection of a European country in which they can reach a growing market-share, including strategic advice of how to set up international activities. 2. Which trade fair should be visited to prepare and support their international activities. This advice should be included with a worked out and detailed Trade Fair plan for the fair to be visited. 2. Choosing the most suitable country for Anur to expand in To advice Anur on which countries they have to expand in, we drew up a few minimal requirements: - The country has to be a member of...
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...2002 HOW FAIR IS FAIR TRADE? ** BY ROBBERT MASELAND AND ALBERT DE VAAL* Summary This paper investigates to what extent fair trade programmes, are indeed ‘fair.’ This is accomplished by comparing fair trade with free trade and protectionist trade regimes on their compliance of the criteria set by the fair trade movement itself. This comparison is made using comparative cost based models and economies of scale models. It is found that whether or not fair trade is superior to free trade or protectionism is highly dependent on a number of characteristics of the products to which fair trade is applied as well as on the context within which international trade takes place. 1 INTRODUCTION A long-standing debate in development economics has been the one between advocates of free trade and proponents of protectionism in developing countries. While the former argued that free trade would offer large opportunities for poor countries to improve their situation, the latter considered trade to be harmful to poorer countries and typically preferred a combination of protectionism and development aid. This opposition tended to dominate the discussion about the role of international trade in the Third World. Bhagwati 1993 , Krueger 1990 However, in recent years, a third position has come up. This position maintains that international trade can be beneficial to developing countries as long as it is performed in a just manner. The idea behind this is that, in conducting trade, we have a...
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...Fair Trade- Benefits and criticisms Important to note that the fair trade economy is diverse ranging from agricultural products to handicrafts from all over the world. Benefits and costs vary by product, historical context of market, geography, etc. It is also important to note that fair trade occupies only a small sliver of the global trade. Some Benefits of Fair Trade: At its core, fairtrade guarantees a decent price for producers by requiring traders to pay a premium, which is passed on to the consumer. This premium insulates the poorest of farmers from fluctuations in the market, disasters, and other extreme events Small-scale Farmers and Workers: The Fairtrade system benefits approximately 1 million workers and farmers in 60 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Including their dependents, five million people are affected. Fairtrade certification allows them to achieve economic independence and empowerment while improving their standards of living. Beyond being paid a fair price for their produce, Fairtrade Premiums enable producers to better their communities by providing: • Improved access to low or no-interest loans • Technical assistance for building infrastructure to improve production • Communications systems, and collectively-owned transport and processing equipment • Better health care and education • Technical training and skill diversification for cooperative members and their families A recent...
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...Fair Trade and its impact on impoverished nations. By Edwin C. Mercurio “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.” Dom Helder Camara Fair trade advocates told a European Union Conference that fair trade works. “It works for the poor people; it works for consumers. It works as a business model; it works as sustainable development; it works to protect the environment; it works as an idea." reports the Fair Trade Advocacy Newsletter. But there is growing concern about the theory and practice of the Fair Trade movement. Despite its anti-capitalist rhetoric, it is seen as a revised form of free trade controlled by the G8 and economically dominant countries,which are continually held responsible for global trade injustices. Fair trade is often presented as a fair way to help banana growers. However, the dominance of corporate power - Del Monte, Chiquita and Dole - leaves poorer farmers and nations with an uncertain future and destroyed ecosystems. Their dominance is built on the exploitation of lands and workers from developing countries. There are indications that fair trade is used as a cover by transnational corporations to expand their corporate interest. Even more disturbing, according to Matthias Schmeizer of Institute Fusoziale Dreigliederung, is how Nestle (known as 2005’s “least responsible company” worldwide and one of the four big coffee roasters responsible for the coffee crisis...
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