Fairtrade Surveys

During 2026 the Fairtrade Committee set out to survey students at the University of Derby. Our objective was to gather feedback from students on:

• their ethical actions and concerns
• their ethical purchasing behaviours
• their awareness of Fairtrade and how it impacts their purchasing behaviour
• awareness of Fairtrade on campus

Fairtrade Survey Summary

The University of Derby surveyed students during Freshers Fair and compared the results to surveys carried out in 2022 and 2023. 121 students completed it and the key findings were as follows:

• Students responding in 2023 and 2026 have highlighted climate change, deforestation and environment as being of greater concern than the previous survey in 2022. The University might therefore benefit from demonstrating the links between buying Fairtrade products and being environmentally conscientious.
• The main action students are likely to take to address issues around Fairtrade is purchasing of products with ethical credentials.
• The most significant deterrent for students buying ethically produced products is higher cost and lack of information.
• 95% of survey respondents recognise the Fairtrade logo.
• 96% of respondents said they think it is very important or important for the University to take action to use and promote Fairtrade.

Recommendations for the Fairtrade Committee

• Consider making the link between sustainability and environmental benefits when promoting Fairtrade.
• It might be useful to do a pricing exercise to compare the prices of many Fairtrade products and hopefully demonstrate that the difference in price isn't always that much. This could be developed into a quiz or competition, whereby students are asked to guess the price of items in a Fairtrade hamper and whoever's guess is closest wins the hamper of goodies.
• The most common items people said they bought that were Fairtrade were bananas, tea and coffee. It might be worthwhile the Fairtrade Committee promoting the wide breadth of products that have Fairtrade options.
• Consider having more stands and Fairtrade activities throughout the year to assist in promoting the Fairtrade logo to students. Consider doing more articles promoting Fairtrade in the newsletters.

Please contact Liz Stoenciu-Thompson at l.thompson2@derby.ac.uk, if you would like a full copy of the survey results.