Buying into Fair Trade: Culture, Morality, and Consumption

Stamped on products

from coffee to handicrafts, the term "fair trade" has quickly become one of

today's most seductive consumer buzzwords. Purportedly created through fair

labor practices, or in ways that are environmentally sustainable, fair-trade

products give buyers peace of mind in knowing that, in theory, how they shop

can help make the world a better place. Buying

into Fair Trade turns the spotlight onto this growing trend, exploring how fair-trade

shoppers think about their own altruism within an increasingly global economy.

Using over 100 interviews with

fair-trade consumers, national leaders of the movement, coffee farmers, and

artisans, author Keith Brown describes both the strategies that consumers use

to confront the moral contradictions involved in trying to shop ethically and the

ways shopkeepers and suppliers reconcile their need to do good with the

ever-present need to turn a profit. In addition to his in-depth analysis of the

fair-trade market, Brown also provides a how-to chapter that outlines

strategies readers can use to appear altruistic.This chapter highlights the ways that

socially responsible markets have been detached from issues of morality. A

fascinating account of how consumers

first learn about, understand, and sometimes ignore the ethical implications of

shopping, Buying into Fair Trade sheds

new light on the potential for the fair trade market to reshape the world into

a more socially-just place.