Impact of Fair Trade Products on the UK Coffee Shop Sector

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QUESTIONNAIRE FOR COFFEE RETAILERS

Invitation Letter to Participate In Survey for Coffee Retailers

Dear Sir,

I am student at the (University Name), first of all, I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to gain understanding about the impact of fair trade products on the UK coffee shop sector. I am currently finishing my (Write your degree name). As part of the requirements, I am conducting a survey on impact of fair trade products on the UK coffee shop sector. The information collected will be used for academic purposes and neither your name nor your company will be disclosed. All of your responses will be kept confidential. Your institution's name and survey responses will be kept safe and only the researcher will have access to this data.

The goal of this study is to understand how fair trade products, impacts the UK coffee shop sector. In order to accomplish this, we need your help, because you are potential participant as a coffee retailer in this survey. The study involves two separate surveys to be completed by coffee retailer and coffee roaster. This survey will take approximately 15 minutes and will ask questions about your views and experiences in this field. If desired, you will receive a summary of the findings approximately two months after the completion of this research project. This summary will provide some insights into how fair trade products, impacts the UK coffee shop sector.

As with any study, your participation is completely voluntary, anonymous, confidential, and greatly appreciated. I am also providing the overview of the project; you can grow through it for further clarity regarding this research if you want.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Student Name

Overview of the Research Project

In this research, I am asking what enables roasters and retailers to imagine they are part of a global social force that stands opposed to the traditional coffee commodity chain and the conventional coffee industry, and analyzing the impact of fair trade products on the UK coffee shop sector. I am speaking to a body of literature on fair trade that is still new and developing. Most of the literature assesses the potential of fair trade to combat the negative effects of neoliberal globalization on poor communities. There is an abundance of literature on the importance of fair trade to coffee producers and a growing amount on the fair trade coffee consumer, however, there is less on the coffee retailer. This thesis significantly contributes to that body of literature. Fair trade consumption is uniquely motivated by the political choices and conscious reflexivity of consumers and fair trade forges equitable and participatory trade relationships. There is not the need of only focusing on producers and consumers but the actors in between.

Fair trade can be thought of as a transnational network of relationships that link producers, distributors and consumers. In the fair trade coffee commodity chain, the coffee retailer is the intermediary between the consumer and the rest of ...