Von Wachstum und Werten. Globale Wertschöpfungsketten im Fairen Handel.

Of Growth and Values – Global Value Chains in Fair Trade

Fair Trade in Europe has become a fast growing market in recent decades. This has led to new dynamics, especially in the Global North. The tensions between social values and market imperatives are intensifying as fair traded products are becoming more successful. This affects the geographical distribution of economic activities as well as the governance and power structures within global fair trade chains.

On the basis of fair trade in Germany, the chain configurations of several products are analysed and grouped in types. Especially the relations at the key chain knots, between producing and buying actors are undergoing changes. The chains are analysed in depth concerning their governance and power structures. Moreover, proximities in relationships between producer and consumer are discussed respective to the fields of tension between security and control on the one hand and the producers’ solidary empowerment on the other hand.

Using the example of the best-selling fair trade product coffee, the global value chain is backtracked from Germany to Nicaragua. Here, the thesis determines if the market expansion in Germany holds opportunities for producers’ groups in Nicaragua. Beyond that, the research reveals which strategies producers’ cooperatives have been developing in order to cope with growing expectations related to quality and certification, which are a precondition for participation in global fair trade value chains.

The main focus lies on complex interconnections within (alternative) global trading relations and social negotiations between economy and society. A combination of qualitative social science research methods and multi-level-perspectives along the chains enables a holistic view of alternative value chains. Normative aspects, such as motivation and intention of economic activities and decisions based on the values of the acting persons, complement the analytic approach to German fair trade actors in relation to their networks. Also, the interconnections between value orientation of the chains’ key actors and the qualities of relationships at the central knots are presented in detail. Finally, the thesis highlights consequences on the producing actors’ scopes of action in relation to their inclusion into the respective chain types differentiated earlier.