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Fair Trade Milk Initiative in Belgium: Bricolage as an Empowering Strategy for Change
Author(s) -
Feyereisen Marlène,
Stassart Pierre M.,
Mélard François
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
sociologia ruralis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1467-9523
pISSN - 0038-0199
DOI - 10.1111/soru.12174
Subject(s) - bricolage , fair trade , context (archaeology) , ambiguity , remuneration , embeddedness , order (exchange) , product (mathematics) , marketing , business , sociology , social science , computer science , art , paleontology , geometry , literature , mathematics , finance , international trade , biology , programming language
In a context of multiple crises, dairy farmers struggle to receive a fair remuneration for their work. This situation led to the creation of fair milk projects in Europe. But fair trade projects often suffer from ambiguous interpretations that place them simultaneously in and against the market. This study focuses on a Belgian milk label in order to analyse how dairy farmers developed a particular strategy to create their own fair milk. Based on semi‐structured interviews and using the multi‐level perspective, we propose that articulating the concepts of lock‐ins, bricolage and ambiguity enables us to analyse the potential of this innovation for the transition of the Belgian dairy system. The study shows that fairness is often a matter of divergent interpretations, and its final actualisation is the product of emergent and negotiated relations. By using bricolage practices, the stakeholders reinforced their capacity to gain market power and act within the system they want to change.