2007/06/01 by Philip Booth, Linda Whetstone · 4 citations
Social Sciences · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare #Income, Poverty, and Inequality #Agricultural risk and resilience
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0270.2007.00727.x
openalex publication_date 2007/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
The fair trade movement claims that the products it provides are sourced ‘justly’ and that purchasing fair trade products brings economic benefits for the poor. Whilst it is clear that fair trade might bring some benefits to particular groups, whether it brings significant net benefits to the poor in general is questionable. Moreover, the claim that fair trade transactions are more ‘just’ cannot be substantiated. Customers also might be surprised to learn that the majority of the Fairtrade Foundation's net income is spent on promoting its own brand.