Evaluating the Criticisms of Fair Trade: How strong is the argument that consumers and businesses should abandon Fair Trade as a means to socialise their economic decisions?

Smith, Alastair 2009. Evaluating the Criticisms of Fair Trade: How strong is the argument that consumers and businesses should abandon Fair Trade as a means to socialise their economic decisions? Economic Affairs 29 (4) , pp. 29-36. 10.1111/j.1468-0270.2009.01944.x

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Abstract

This article critically examines some of the most common arguments used to support the view that Fair Trade should be rejected by consumers and businesses seeking to socialise their economic decisions. Overall the paper finds that the majority of such criticisms lack evidential rigor and sophisticated theory and instead rely on a high degree of rhetorical aptitude. While this does not naturally lead to the position that Fair Trade is necessarily beneficial, the conclusion reflects on a substantial amount of positive evidence to suggest that Fair Trade should not be abandoned by consumers or businesses.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS) Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Fair Trade ; Free trade ; Co-operatives ; Corporate social responsibility ; Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International
Publisher:	Blackwell Publishing
ISSN:	0265-0665
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 17:12
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/6919

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