Attitudes towards Fairtrade Principles and Environmental Views among the Inhabitants of a Rural Swedish Town

Abstract

This paper evaluates associations between values and preference for the Fairtrade concept and compares the ecocentric and anthroprocentric views of Nature. The intention of Fairtrade product labelling is to increase consumers’ awareness of products that have a presumably more positive influence on workers’ lives in developing countries. The ecocentric view assumes that Nature has an intrinsic value and should be preserved regardless of economic implications. The anthropocentric view, on the other hand, assumes Nature has value only because of the material, physical, or other benefits Nature provides humans. All respondents in the study were residents of Gestad, a small town in a sparsely populated area of Sweden. Among the main results of the study was that self-transcendence values (e.g., universalism and benevolence) were positively correlated with a preference for Fairtrade and ecocentrism, and negatively correlated with anthropocentrism. Conservation values (e.g., tradition and conformity) were positively correlated with anthropocentrism, and negatively correlated with a preference for Fairtrade. Another result was that women were more positive than men towards Fairtrade and ecocentrism.