Approaching maturity, Fair Trade faces challenges at both ends of the supply chain, reflecting the dual roles of Fair Trade as a business and development instrument. Who should supply the Fair Trade market, what support do producers require and what is the impact of the relationship between Fair...

The paper explores the factors that are pushing the development of ethical trade and also the potential constraints.

Fair trade critiques the historical inequalities inherent in international trade and seeks to promote social justice by creating alternative networks linking marginalized producers (typically in the global South) with progressive consumers (typically in the global North). The first of its kind,...

Standards organizations and NGOs have begun to refer to “fair carbon” projects, and “fairly traded” carbon credits. “Fairness” is a fuzzy notion, subject to multiple and competing interpretations. This paper draws on a framing used by standards organizations, which encompasses issues...

The rise of private standards, including those involving multi-stakeholder processes, raises questions about whose interests are served and the kind of power that is exerted to maintain these interests. This paper critically examines the battle for ideas—the way competing factions assert their...

Ethical trade, through codes of practice, forms an important part of the value chains for horticultural products sourced from Africa by major European buyers. This paper explores the relationship between value chains in the horticultural sector, the employment patterns of African producers, and...

Codes of conduct covering the employment conditions of Southern producers exporting to European markets mushroomed throughout the 1990s, especially in the horticulture sector linking UK and European supermarkets with export firms in Africa. The majority of employment in this sector is...