Business & Marketing Case Study: Case Analysis- Fair Trade Jewelry Co.: Establishing an Ethical Global Value Chain

Case Analysis- Fair Trade Jewelry Co.: Establishing an Ethical Global Value Chain
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Qn1. The research problem, underlying issues, and possible solutions
The main problem presented in Goerzen and Fiske's (2020) case is the struggle to obtain to find a supply of responsibly sourced gold by Fair Jewelry Co. (FTJCo) and assure their customers of the same. The primary factors that have led to the scarcity and lack of legal and ethically produced gold are its contamination, therefore losing traceability, in refineries and the economic feasibility and sustainability of ethical production of gold through developing its gold refining capabilities in Toronto. One of the steps the company took to ensure responsible sourcing was the direct dealing with small-scale artisanal mines (ASMS), as seen in their dealings with Oro Verde Gold, which had limited soil erosion, landscape degradation, and responsible mining (Goerzen and Fiske, 2020). The company also relied on the Fairtrade Labelling Organization International's (FLO) partnership with Alliance for Responsible for Mining (ARM), forming the Fairtrade gold, which certified and trademarked gold. Goerzen Fiske (2020) note that FTJCo was among the initial businesses to seek Fairtrade's gold, which ensured improving ASMS through by checking the gold prices. After the dissolution of Fairtrade and realizing that the gold was still getting contaminated in the refineries, the company joined forces with a Partnership Africa Canada (PAC); an NGO which had implemented 'Just Gold' to ensure weight/price alignment is in accordance to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), source of gold ore and identity of the miners (Goerzen and Fiske, 2020). The complexity and intersection of the factors like purity, tax, and type of buyer still affected the pricing strategy for the partnership with PAC (Goerzen and Fiske, 2020). However, its riskiness and export to the US also lost the gold's traceability. Future considerations include expanding refinery capabilities of partnering with Consesas, a data tracking company to enable tracing from DRC to the US. However, the gold still loses traceability due to a lack of control by FTJCo. However, it is more feasible with transparency from the US company as it is less risky to the employee and company survival.
Qn.2 FTJCo SWOT Analysis and Competitive Advantage
FTJCo's partnerships with Just Gold and IMPACT led to media coverage by popular outlets like The Guardian, Globe, and Mail (Goerzen and Fisk, 2020). The media coverage presents strength as it indicates knowledge and popularity of its social responsibility efforts to ensure responsible and ethical gold mining. Another strength of FTJCo is its ability to obtain credit despite investing in a risky area, as it was able to get a loan from the National Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada in 2017's dealings in DRC (Goerzen and Fisk, 2020). The company is also well connected to gold miners and refineries gave its investments and transactions in South America, DRC, the US, and Canada. Customer knowledge about a company's involvement in improving the lives of miners can be a potent marketing tool to its c...