What is Fair Trade fish worth?
The high-minded among us have been buying Fair Trade coffee for years. But are they ready to spend more for Fair Trade fish?
The fishing industry is a global one, in which more than 120 million people work for primary or secondary income, and it turns out to be riddled with human rights horrors.
In March, an Associated Press investigation exposed a group of caged men who had for years been forced to catch squid, snapper, grouper and shrimp off boats in Indonesia. Since tainted fish was processed alongside ethically sourced fish, the AP found the two were mixed and could end up on shelves at American supermarkets including Walmart, Safeway, Kroger and Albertsons.
That same month, Safeway started stocking the first Fair Trade certified fish in its seafood counters, and the company says it’s been pleased with the response from customers.
But will the supermarket chain’s efforts move the needle on bringing ethically sourced fish to U.S. consumers?
The first Fair Trade fish in the Safeway counters was tuna. The Pleasanton supermarket chain worked with Fair Trade USA to assure American shoppers that this fish, also caught by fishermen in the Maluku island chain of Indonesia, passed the criteria to sell under the Fair Trade banner. To be certified by Fair Trade USA, producers of coffee, tea, clothing — and now seafood and other products — must meet both human rights and natural resource standards. Fair Trade tuna fillets appeared in the chain’s Northern California, Portland, Ore., and Seattle stores. As more tuna becomes available, the company expects to offer it in more stores.
“The arc and focus of sustainability in this industry has been deeply engrained in environmental issues,” said Maya Spaull, director of new category innovation at Fair Trade USA. “What was really plainly left out and not addressed was the conditions under which people are fishing.”
And the question re- mains: Will Safeway customers pay more for Fair Trade tuna?
A trip last week to a San Francisco Safeway showed that the price of Fair Trade tuna was $9.99 per 12 ounces. Regular wild-caught tuna was $8.99, and most frozen fish fillets were about $6.
“It’s an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. As long as we don’t see it, most consumers don’t care,” said David Livingston, an analyst with DJL research.
Some fish aficionados might be wooed by the association’s stamp of approval, especially in wealthier, more liberal areas, Livingston said. “For the most part,” he added, “what most people care about is, is it fresh, more than anything,” he said.
Despite the Safeway chain’s size (it was recently bought by Albertsons), he doesn’t expect to see other mid-market chains feeling pressured to offer certified Fair Trade products because of Safeway.
Aside from freshness, shoppers — especially at mid-market grocers — care about the bottom line, and Fair Trade products, including tuna, cost more than the traditional tuna products sold at Safeway.
A 2005 study on Fair Trade coffee, done in Belgium and published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs, found that, on average, shoppers were willing to pay an extra 10 percent for ethically produced beans. Those most willing to pay more, or “Fair Trade lovers,” made up just 11 percent of those surveyed. On the whole, the study found, they were particularly idealistic, between the ages of 31 and 44 and “less conventional.”
“There’s a minority of consumers who are willing to pay more for it, but most feel that these are the types of practices suppliers should really be recognizing and following,” said Darren Tristano, a food service analyst and the executive vice president of Technomic.
When people pay more for Fair Trade tuna at Safeway, a percentage of the proceeds will go to a bank account for the fishermen. Together, the fishermen will vote on how the money should be spent, from education to libraries and life vests in their community, Spaull said.
Safeway already scores well on Greenpeace’s seafood sustainability report — last year, it was second to Whole Foods. In 2011, the supermarket giant said it would work to make all fresh and frozen seafood sold in stores responsibly caught or farmed, “or from sources making credible improvements.”
Tristano said the move will probably buy Safeway credibility with some of its shoppers — especially those who also shop at high-end food stores.
“The market is very competitive, and you want to reach that more affluent consumer, the one with the money that can afford to pay more and wants to,” Tristano said. “It’s a good step in trying to maintain your current base and grow it as those more high-end stores come into the market.”
He said fair trade is especially salient with younger consumers.
“That type of transparency is something younger generations are not only getting, but expecting to get more of,” Tristano said. “In the long term, I think the brands that follow it are really going to do well.”
Livingston wasn’t buying it.
“A lot of times that stuff is just for the press release and to get their names written up,” Livingston said.
“It’s an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. As long as we don’t see it, most consumers don’t care.” David Livingston, analyst