Fair Trade Moves Centre Stage

This paper presents a profile of the fair trade movement and discusses the factors which have been responsible for the attention which is currently being given to its demands. The first section considers the nature of fair trade arguing that rather than a discussion of definitions we are dealing with a variegated social movement mobilized around a range of objectives both convergent and conflictive. The leading actors in the movement are then presented together with an overall profile of fair trade by country, region, and principal products. This is followed by an analysis of the reasons for fair trade's current prominence both in the market and in political arenas. [The paper] then discusses the specific features which characterize fair trade as a social movement. Fair trade's shift from a North/South to a global movement with the emergence of a distinctive Southern agenda is then analyzed. The paper concludes with a consideration of future directions for fair trade. --Author summary