ABSTRACT
Originating in the Latin American coffee sector, fair trade has emerged in recent decades as an important initiative seeking to harness global markets to foster empowerment-based development. This movement strives to challenge exploitative trade relations rooted in the history of colonialism and promote social justice and environmental sustainability. Fair trade seeks to foster the wellbeing and empowerment of producers in the Global South through the provision of higher prices, stable market links, better working conditions, and community development resources. In the Global North, fair trade seeks to promote responsible consumption and provide shoppers with socially and environmentally friendly products. The non-governmental organization (NGO) Fairtrade International now certifies 20 commodities with global sales worth US$ 8 billion a year (FTI, 2017). Nearly two million producers participate in Fairtrade commodity networks, with Latin America and the Caribbean remaining a central locus of production (FTI, 2017). 1
