Opportunities, obstacles, and implications for ethical trade in the South African wine industry

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This research paper attempts to elucidate the main issues surrounding the integration ofethical trade, meaning the building, monitoring, and communicating of social and/orenvironmental responsibility, within the South African wine industry. The author firstestablishes the hypothesis that social and/or environmental responsibility is important tothe South African wine industry, as this investment could theoretically provide theindustry with a competitive advantage in an increasingly cutthroat international winemarket by addressing the industry's most outstanding defects: the lack of qualityproduction, the need for investment in natural resources (labour and the environment), aswell as the call for building brand equity and niche marketing strategies. Put differently,this paper suggests that the investment in social and/or environmental responsibility couldoffer cost-saving benefits to the industry as well as paving a road to international marketaccess. This research first gives a background of ethical trade and determines a picture ofthe current situation of the South African wine industry, and lastly, given thisinformation, derives the key opportunities, obstacles, and implications of the potentialamalgamation of ethical trade in the industry.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University