Ashraf has since sent this message: “It was my pleasure to meet all the members last Tuesday. Your potential contribution to my PhD work is invaluable. Below is a short description of my research. I'm happy to interview as many members as possible. Each interview will last around 60 minutes and that of course will be on the interviewee convenience in terms of time, date and place.
Here is the description: The continuous increase of Fairtrade sales in the UK made it a necessity to study in depth the dynamics of the grassroots movement that supports Fair Trade. Whereas a huge body of literature focused on Fair Trade producers and consumers, there are very few studies that addressed the Fairtrade supporters’ side. Therefore, this study aims to explore the motivations and perceptions of Fair Trade supporters (activists/campaigners). The potential practical contribution of this study is to offer clear guidance to Fair Trade organisations and groups on how to efficiently recruit new supporters for Fair Trade in different contexts including different geographical locations and across different age groups. In a nutshell, this study aims to figure out new ways to pump more energy, strength, and prevalence of the Fair Trade movement."
Holme Valley Fairtrade encourage anyone who has a keen interest in Fairtrade as a subject to get in touch with Ashraf to take part in his study. For those interested, please e-mail Ashraf Hamad at the following address: a.hamad@yorksj.ac.uk