New Grounds in the Fair Trade Debate

Since the 1980s, the “fair trade” labeling system has evolved with the explicit aim of addressing structural inequalities in global markets by enabling consumers to voluntarily purchase ethically-produced goods. Fair trade (FT) is institutionally grounded by a set of shared principles and standards which are upheld by global oversight organizations and then communicated to consumers through ethical labeling on products. The principles of fair trade include paying a fair wage, equal employment opportunities, and financial and technical assistance to producers. Fair trade has expanded rapidly over the past ten years with consumers globally spending $1.3 billion on fair trade products in 2005, $3.3 billion in 2007, and over $7 billion on products produced by more than 1.4 million farmers and workers from seventy-four countries in 2013. ¹Academic interest in the topic has grown along with this expansion of fair trade.

Scholars concerned with development, poverty reduction, human rights, and business ethics have examined fair trade from a range of disciplines including economics, sociology, anthropology, and political science. This review of four books analyzes the impact of the fair trade labeling scheme on producers and considers whether or not fair trade enables conscientious consumers to encourage a more ethical system of international trade. Daniel Jaffee’s 2014 book, Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival, is an update of his 2007 study assessing the impact of fair trade policies on a producer communities through an in-depth comparison of coffee producing communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. ²The new edition further considers the implications for the fair trade movement with its rapid expansion and inclusion of multinational corporate partners. Political Scientist April Linton’s Fair Trade from the Ground Upprovides a comprehensive review of fair trade literature within her own home discipline and several others (including sociology and anthropology) along with original empirical research that analyzes how producer groups spend their social premium and how consumers grow the movement. ³Development practitioner and educator Tamara Stenn’s book, The Cultural and Political Intersection of Fair Trade and Justiceanalyzes fair trade through a human development lens from the perspective of an experienced fair trader. ⁴Finally, Sarah Lyon and Mark Moberg’s 2010 edited volume, Fair Trade and Social Justice: Global Ethnographiesoffers an integrated set of contributions that critically analyze whether the professed values of fair trade are reflected in concrete outcomes at the producer cooperatives, individual producers, or consumer level. ⁵

Two debates persist in the field. First, scholars disagree on how to conceptualize fair trade. It alternatively functions as a social movement, an ethical market, or a business model; although theoretically, there are not clear delineations of when and where fair trade functions as one or more of these. These rival conceptualizations pivot around different understandings of the agency of Northern consumers within global trade networks and their relationship to their Southern counterparts. Second, while scholars generally agree that fair trade benefits producers, there is a lack of consensus on the level of benefits and whether or not they are equally enjoyed across industry sectors and geographic regions. The literature lacks mid-level theorization concerning why social and economic outcomes vary across fair trade communities. Moving forward, this review provides a brief summary of each of these books while paying particular attention to fair trade conceptualization and impacts on producers.

Daniel Jaffee’s book Brewing Justiceinvestigates the impact of fair trade on coffee producing communities in Oaxaca, Mexico by qualitatively and quantitatively comparing the social and economic indicators of a community involved in fair trade production and conventional trade...