Business Experiences

Fair trade coffee exchanges and community economies
Naylor, L. (2018, April 9) Fair Trade Coffee Exchanges and Community Economies. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X18768287
Abstract: Despite the shortened commodity chain created for coffee through fair trade, there still exist a number of actors within certified commodity exchange. This chain is populated by disproportionately engaged actors, from a consumer looking for the certification seal, to coffee roasters working directly with coffee producing cooperatives, to producers striving to keep up with the standards for certification. Despite such disparities, connections are made between the roasters and the growers of coffee at multiple sites, from community-based projects to the transfer of knowledge and storytelling beyond the communities where coffee is cultivated.

Enthusiasm for Fair Trade: Why the U.K. Outshines the U.S.
Smith Lorvig, V. (2018, April) Enthusiasm for Fair Trade: Why the U.K. Outshines the U.S. Undergraduate Research Conference (URC) Student Presentations. 423. Retrieved from: https://scholars.unh.edu/urc/423/
Abstract: The Fair Trade movement is seen around the world, in affluent countries that promote the label and in the farming countries that live it. Fair trade organizations are the bridge between consumer and producer in the market. The overall goal of fair trade organizations is to inform consumers on the mission and convince businesses there is demand for the product (Bennett et al, 2011: 225). The success of these organizations varies heavily by country. The United Kingdom is the most successful fair trade market in the world, with 96% of consumers aware of the label, compared to 46% of the rest of Europe (Mann, 2012).

The Role of Social Enterprise and Hybrid Organizations
Eldar, O. (2017, May 20) The Role of Social Enterprise and Hybrid Organizations. Columbia Business Law Review, 1; Yale Law & Economics Research Paper No. 485. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2379012
Abstract: Recent years have brought remarkable growth in hybrid organizations that combine profit-seeking and social missions. Despite popular enthusiasm for such organizations, legal reforms to facilitate their formation and growth— particularly, legal forms for hybrid firms—have largely been ineffective.