Sustainability certification schemes such as FAIRTRADE, FLO, WFTO and FT-USA have gained increasing markets. The significant growth of the fair trade (FT) movement in the last decades draws attention to ethical consumption. FT’s aim at improving the livelihoods of producers in developing countries and promotion of social change is considered a model that shows the benefits of trade to development. Although conveying a large number of publications, important questions about the movement remain under-explored. The literature is prolific on coffee, cacao, flowers, wine, and gold. In contrast, the engagement with staple foods – a prominent globally traded food category – seems minor. The primary objective of this review was to map the existing literature about FT and staple foods; then, to investigate the role of staple foods in the FT movement. The search strategy was designed to retrieve publications on the intersection of FT and staple foods. To date, there is no review about FT and staple foods nexus. Our systematic review addressed this gap considering FT as an alternative capable of addressing unsustainable food consumption and production impacts. Our research protocol included keywords searching across four databases, screening, and comparative analysis. From 283 documents retrieved, 49 were deemed relevant to reflect the role of staple foods in the FT movement. This systematic review discusses challenges and opportunities for the FT model to further engage with staples and recommends improvement of its environmental credentials. The present study can contribute by informing decision makers, policy makers, businesses, NGOs, producers, and consumers.
As a relatively new form of non-state governance, the fair trade movement presents an opportunity to promote sustainable production and consumption and hence social change. Global market demands and consumer engagement denote changes in social practices that have led governments to share decision-making processes with private sector and non-governmental organisations. In this context of change, it is important to consider not only whether new forms of governance weaken or strengthen states’ authority within the marketplace but also the extent to which they may allow for “green washing” instead of the green economy proposed by the United Nations Environmental Program. This study considers the fair trade of food production and consumption as a potential innovative model. In doing so it examines the existing general literature on governance, which highlights that decision-making processes tend to reproduce top-down approaches. While such practices may reproduce conventional hierarchies, it is worth questioning the potential of new forms of governance within global markets. This article builds on a sustainability governance analytical framework to deepen understandings of fair trade governance and its possible responses to the dilemmas of food production for ethical consumption and thus sustainable development in transnational relations. This research aims to contribute to the literature on improving compliance with global sustainability standards and through this, inform practices that allow for cooperation towards a green economy.
This chapter focuses on the Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. The theoretical framework from Evolutionary Economics is reviewed and used to facilitate the understanding of developing countries' economic aspects. The relations to sustainable development actions are addressed through case studies centered on fair trade initiativesa market solution that links developed and developing economies through production and trade relations based on good market practices. In a model that seeks to address inequalities generated by conventional trade, the fair trade standard assures stable prices and income together with decent work conditions for small producers from developing economies. The methodological approach of this qualitative study was a literature review associated with a comparative analysis of case studies published about fair trade certified small-scale producers. Small rice farmers from Thailand and small quinoa farmers from Bolivia are presented to illustrate the potential to produce social benefits within a sustainable development framework proposed by the fair trade model. Drawing from both case studies, the chapter ends with recommendations for multilateral trade agreements and policies design regarding agriculture development.
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