THE NEW PERIMETERS FAIR TRADE

Abstract

Since the origins, the fair trade movement has never stopped growing. While it was initially a critique to conventional trade, it now involves conventional actors via certification mechanisms. This redefinition of the scope of Fair Trade has given rise to many controversies about its area (what it covers), its boundaries (what it includes and excludes), and its identity (what makes it unified). This article examines the issues at stake. It sheds light on how the fragmentation of Fair Trade has gone hand in hand with a change in the scale of the movement. It analyses how this fragmentation has extended the movement to new products, actors, territories, and principles. Finally, it discusses how this extension is both the cause and consequence of changes in modes of regulation. Ultimately, this article offers a synthetic perspective of fair trade dynamics.