Fair Trade

Fair Trade is a system of private governance that aims to improve the conditions under which producers of certain goods interact with the global economy; the primary intention is to render terms of involvement more socially just and environmentally sustainable. Having said this, Fair Trade is subject to various discursive and practical interpretations and as such, the concept, its practice, and subsequent results are not homogenous. While there is considerable support for Fair Trade, there has also been much criticism of the approach. In particular, some have questioned the power and spread of Fair Trade discourse on the grounds that empirical understanding remains only modestly (if not increasingly) developed.

Although Fair Trade is usually considered to have emerged at the end of World War II, more ...