Fairtrade Survey 2026 – Results and Analysis
In February, all staff and students at the University of St Andrews were encouraged to fill out the Fairtrade Survey 2026. This was to understand perceptions and participation with Fairtrade, trade justice, and ethical consumption. In total, we received almost 230 responses. Three respondents were randomly selected to receive voucher to spend at the University cafés – the winners have been contacted. Below, we will provide a summary of some key results with analysis and comparison to the previous survey in 2024.
The majority of respondents were undergraduate students (55%), followed by professional services staff members (35%). Postgraduate students and academic staff members provided 10% of responses.
83% respondents recognise and understand what the Fairtrade logo stands for, while 18% were not sure or did not recognise the logo. This suggests that as a University we have the opportunity to boost Fairtrade visibility to ensure that the purpose and impact of Fairtrade is clear and how it relates to us as consumers.
From asking what respondents think the Fairtrade movement stands for, 97% suggested it relates to fair payment for farmers and workers, 85% said decent working conditions and fair terms of trade, and 80% said supporting farmers in low income countries. 78% said sustainable business practices, which is an 11% improvement compared to the 67% who selected this in our previous 2024 survey. This suggests that our work over the past two years may in fact have improved the awareness of the more holistic sustainability that the Fairtrade attempts movement offers for farmers.
When asked ‘where on campus are you aware of Fairtrade products being available?’, the biggest response was for the University cafés (83%). While 32% claimed not to be aware of Fairtrade products being available on campus, 30% mentioned the University Shop, 20% mentioned catered halls, and 10% mentioned campus vending machines as sources of Fairtrade products.
In terms of promotion of Fairtrade, 100 people noted they had seen Fairtrade promoted at an event this year, compared to just 22 in the previous survey – a positive increase that reflects the Fairtrade events we have held this year.
Regarding Fairtrade principles and ethical consumption being integrated in teaching, research and assessment, certain modules such as introductory Sustainable Development and Social Anthropology modules were noted to include these. Other School modules that were mentioned include Economics, Geography, Earth Science, Chemistry, International Relations, and Ancient History. However, not all of these explicitly discuss Fairtrade. This suggests there are opportunities to investigate and expand on the discussions and work produced within these modules.
Compared to the previous survey, we found a 9% increase in weekly purchasing of Fairtrade-certified products (from 19% to 27%). We also asked about barriers to purchasing Fairtrade and reasons that may decrease the likelihood of buying products produced in an ethical way. The answers show that while in 2024, 21% of respondents said ‘it does not matter to me’ if products bought are Fairtrade-certified, in 2026, just 2.6% chose the equivalent answer – a significant 18.4% increase in concern. In fact, offering the option to say ‘I am more likely to purchase Fairtrade’ rather than asking people only to choose barriers showed 21% of respondents’ willingness to choose fairly traded products. Concern over both the availability of Fairtrade products and of them being clearly advertised was reduced by 13%, from 43% to 30%. However, concerns increased about the reliability of ethical credentials from 10% to 17.6%. Overall, both years show the largest potential barrier remains the cost of Fairtrade and ethically certified products. Therefore, it is in our interest to ensure affordability and to incentivise purchasing.
When asked how much the ethical standards of a product and the company selling it matters, there was increase in the amount of overall concern from University of St Andrews staff and students. 96% of respondents said ‘Greatly’ or ‘Moderately’ in 2026, up 9% from 2024, at 85%. This means those who care ‘Very little’ or ‘Not at all’ decreased by 9%, from 15% in 2024 to just 4% in 2026. This upwards momentum is key to utilise.
Despite cost being the overall largest barrier to purchasing Fairtrade and ethically sourced products from, results also show a stronger trend towards being willing to spend more on products based on how ethically they were produced. 80% respondents somewhat or strongly agree that they would be wiling to spend more money on products they know are ethically produced, compared to 67% in 2024, an increase of 13%. While those who disagree has only marginally reduced (11% 2026 vs 12% 2024), those who are indifferent have become more strongly inclined to support purchasing Fairtrade, as this percentage has reduced by 12%.
Responses also showed that participants want to see the University support and promote Fairtrade, ethical purchasing and/or trade justice through more events, stocked products, and inclusion in the curriculum. This is an increase over social media and posters.
Further, two-thirds of responses were interested in a paid summer internship to investigate Fairtrade. This is positive as we have a Fairtrade internship opportunity open for applications on the Careers Centre website until Sunday 12 April.
Key takeaways from additional comments involve us improving storytelling to show the impact and importance of Fairtrade, as well as sharing more explicit information about which items available across the University are Fairtrade certified. We are looking into ethical purchasing and supply chains used throughout the University, not just at the consumer level.
Thank you to all who filled out the Fairtrade Survey 2026. We welcome further comments and queries. Please email [email protected].
