The Politics of Fair Trade

Demands for a fairer system of trade to address the growing immiseration and poverty of large numbers of people, particularly in the developing world, found a new channel for expression trhough the Fair Trade movement, picking up momentum from about the mid-70s. The Politics of Fair Trade: A Survey offers a concise and up-to-date critical overview of fair trade in an accessible style. It’s four sections include:

• Essay chapters covering a range of issues from the links between free trade, fair trade and globalization, discussions on ethics in trade and the politics of supply chains, to the branding, marketing and certification of fair trade, and its implications for development.
• Case studies providing in-depth explorations of some of the major fair trade commodities; handicrafts, coffee and cocoa.
• An A – Z glossary comprising detailed entries explaining terms, organizations, issues and topics on fair trade, with cross referencing for ease of use.
• A section on data and statistics, including estimated Fairtrade retail sales by country, counties where Fairtrade-certified producer organizations can be found, Fairtrade premium spending etc.

Meera Warrier is Research Development Co-ordinator at the University of Leicester. She has several years' experience in research management and communicating research to non-academic audiences such as journalists, the charity sector and policy makers. Her current research interests include globalization and the politics of development, and the globalization and internationalization of higher education.