The organizational patterns of trade and engagement have substantially evolved within the past century between developed and developing countries, and there are many discourses on how to remedy the imbalance present in the global economy. Numerous economists have touted the notion that ‘Aid through Trade’[1] should be a main focus for development and Fair Trade[2] has become increasingly popular not only among activists but also consumers. There has been a significant rise in public awareness of social issues concerning market transactions, and this has furthered the popularity of conscious consumerism and generated greater interest from the business realm to get involved. Although Fair Trade originated to serve as an innovative supply chain, which aids in poverty reduction by engaging the world’s ‘poor’ in the trading system, it now is a powerful marketing mechanism in need of continued assessment.[3] The mainstreaming of Fair Trade, along with the approaches employed by Fair Trade Organizations (FTOs), may be of concern given the focus on small-scale production and reliance on sales of primary goods. FTOs emphasize an outward-oriented development (OOD) model and, despite the fact that trade has traditionally been deemed a vital component for economic growth,[4] such an approach is problematic since it establishes dependency-based relationships and requires interregional trade networks to be strong.

[1] The concept of ‘Aid through Trade’ differs from ‘Trade, not Aid’ in that it links assistance to trade transactions, exemplified by Fair Trade, whereas the latter concept promotes the use of free trade devoid of assistance. See: Simon Reid-Henry, ‘Neoliberalism's 'trade not aid' approach to development ignored past lessons’, The Guardian (2012).

[2] The terminology of ‘Fair Trade’ represents that which is generally regarded to adhere to the original purpose of the Fair Trade movement, while ‘fairtrade’ pertains to that which FLO has certified.

[3] Laura T. Raynolds, Douglas Murray, and John Wilkinson, Fair Trade: The Challenges of Transforming Globalization (GB: Routledge Ltd, 2007); Laura T. Raynolds, Poverty Alleviation Through Participation in Fair Trade Coffee Networks: Existing Research and Critical Issues (Colorado State University, 2002); Ann Le Mare, 'The Impact of Fair Trade on Social and Economic Development: A Review of the Literature', Geography Compass, vol. 2/no. 6 (2008), p. 1935.

[4] Karl Marx and Ben Fowkes, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy (New York: Vintage Books, 1977); Joseph Stiglitz, Making Globalization Work (New York: W. W. Norton and Company Inc., 2006).