Center for Fair & Alternative Trade

Fair Trade Handbook

Posted Summer 2014.

Summer 2014. CFAT announces Handbook of Research on Fair Trade (2015). The first of its kind, this volume will provide a synthetic overview and guide to cutting edge research, theory, and debates. Laura Raynolds and Elizabeth Bennett (eds) assemble 30 chapters by the world’s foremost fair trade scholars…

Fair trade is now commonly discussed by social scientists, business people, development practitioners, movement activists and consumers. Conceptually, fair trade refers to a critique of the historical inequalities inherent in international trade and to a belief that trade can be made more socially just. In practice, fair trade comprises various initiatives that challenge global inequalities and seek to create more egalitarian links between producers and consumers.

The Handbook of Research on Fair Trade edited by CFAT Director Laura Raynolds and Associate Elizabeth Bennett was commissioned by Edward Elgar Publishing to provide a synopsis and appraisal of the field of fair trade studies. This volume analyzes the key domains of fair trade research, focusing in four thematically organized sections on: (1) Introduction to Fair Trade, (2) The Fair Trade Movement, (3) The Business of Fair Trade, and (4) Fair Trade and International Development. Providing a broad overview, the Handbook sheds light on diverse production and consumption regions, divergent initiatives and organizations, and numerous fair trade commodities (including coffee, tea, flowers, wine, crafts, etc…).

Thirty original chapters analyze key topics in fair trade, illuminating major theoretical and empirical issues; assessing existing research; evaluating central debates; and identifying critical unanswered questions. Entries are written by preeminent fair trade scholars from around the world and from across the social sciences—from sociology, political science, geography, economics and anthropology as well as from business and international development fields. The Handbook is written for those new to fair trade as well as those well versed in this area; for those scholars interested primarily in theoretical issues and for those activists and practitioners focused largely on pragmatic solutions to today’s pressing problems.

Available in early 2015, the Handbook of Research on Fair Trade will include:

• “Introduction” by L. Raynolds & E. Bennett
• “Fair Trade: Movement and Markets” by L. Raynolds & N. Greenfield
• “The Politics of Fairtrade International Governance” by E. Bennett
• “Corporate Accountability, Fair Trade and Multi-Stakeholder Regulation” by P. Utting
• “The Meaning of Fair Trade” by S. Suranovic
• “Global Labor Politics and Fair Trade” by D. Stevis
• “Fairtrade Certification, Conventions, and Labor” by L. Riisgaard
• “Connections in Fair Trade Food Networks” by M. Goodman & A. Herman
• “Consumer Politics, Political Consumption, and Fair Trade” by K. Brown
• “Domestic Fair Trade in the United States” by S. Brown & C. Getz
• “Fair Trade Places” by A. Smith
• “Cooperatives, Corporations and Fair Trade” by D. Reed
• “Fair Trade and Social Enterprise” by B. Huybrechts
• “Local Fair Trade Organizations and Institutional Logics” by M. McConway & G. Moore
• “Fair Trade Certification, Performance and Practice” by T. Mutersbaugh & B. Wilson
• “Retailers, Corporate Ethics, and Fair Trade” by A. Hughes
• “Fairtrade International and the European Market” by B. Doherty, V. Bezençon, & G. Balineau
• “The US Market and Fair Trade Certified” by A. Linton & C. Rosty
• “Fair Trade and Mainstreaming” by R. Le Velly
• “Fair Trade, Peace, and Development in Conflict Zones” by E. Davenport & W. Low
• “Fair Trade and Women’s Empowerment” by S. Smith
• “Fair Trade and Development in African Agriculture” by A. Tallontire
• “Fair Trade Coffee and Environmental Sustainability in Latin America” by C. Bacon, R. Rice, & H. Maryanski
• “Fair Trade and Indigenous Communities in Latin America” by S. Lyon
• “Fair Trade and Racial Equity in Africa” by J. Keahey
• “Fair Trade and Artisans” by M. Littrell
• “Fair Trade for Small Farmer Cooperatives in Latin America” by M. Renard
• “Fair Trade and Plantation Workers in Asia” by R. Makita
• “Fairtrade International’s Impact in Africa” by V. Nelson & A. Martin
• “Quantitative Analysis of the Impacts of Fair Trade” by L. Becchetti, S. Castriota, & P. Conzo