Domain Exploration of ICT Use in Consumer-to-Producer Feedback Loops within the Fair Trade System

Information and communications technology (ICT) plays an important role in facilitating information flows through fair trade supply chains. While previous research has focused on the role of ICT in providing consumers with fair trade producer information, few studies have considered the operation of feedback loops from consumers to producers, particularly in an Australian context. This qualitative study provides a novel contribution in this area through a domain exploration of the consumer-to-producer feedback loops in the fair trade system and the role of ICT in facilitating these supply chain communications. We have used ethnographic techniques through semi-structured interviews with consumer, importer, and producer links in the supply chain, analysing and refining our data using a grounded-theory approach. The discussion engages with emerging themes addressing the actual information needs of producers, attributes of existing feedback loops, and the role of ICT in fair trade handicraft supply chains. We explore the function of intermediaries in the supply chains who aggregate, filter and interpret feedback that flows from the consumers and importers through to the producer organisations and the artisans who produce the goods. Finally, we consider potential future applications of ICT to fair trade feedback loops and associated design sensitivities to ensure that feedback offered by consumers and importers satisfies producer information needs, establishing new avenues of enquiry in the field of HCI for Development (HCI4D).