Laura T. Raynolds

Consumer/Producer Links in Fair Trade Coffee Networks

This article analyzes the multifaceted connections linking consumers and producers in expanding North/South Fair Trade coffee networks. I develop a commodity network framework that builds on the commodity chain tradition, integrating insights from cultural studies, actor–network theory, and conventions approaches. This framework illuminates how material and ideological relations are negotiated across production and consumption arenas. In the case of Fair Trade, progressive ideas and practices related to trust, equality, and global responsibility are intertwined with traditional commercial and industrial conventions. As I demonstrate, the negotiation of these divergent conventions shortens the social distance between Fair Trade coffee consumers and producers. I conclude that by re–linking consumers and producers, commodity network analysis provides a robust entre for academic inquiry and engagement in alternative food politics.

Alternative trade in bananas: Obstacles and opportunities for progressive social change in the global economy

Fair trade bananas are the latest inan increasing array of commodities that are beingpromoted by various organizations in an effort tocreate alternative production and consumption patternsto the environmentally destructive and sociallyinequitable patterns inherent in traditionalproduction and trade systems. Fair trade is touted asa strategy to achieve more sustainable developmentthrough linking environmentally and socially consciousconsumers in the North with producers pursuingenvironmentally sound and socially just productionpractices in the South. Promotion of fair tradebananas in Europe has achieved impressive initialgains on the consumer end of the commodity chain,capturing 10 percent or more of the banana trade inseveral countries. Yet in spite of these gains, thefair trade banana initiative appears to beencountering serious obstacles to its further success.We argue that the primary challenge in creating atruly alternative trade in bananas stems from thedifficulties of upholding rigorous social andenvironmental standards in the face of increasinginroads into fair trade markets by transnationalcorporations producing under less rigorous conditions.We then develop a series of options for strengtheningfair trade banana initiatives in both Europe and NorthAmerica. We conclude by arguing that the case ofbananas illuminates the general question of how toachieve more progressive and sustainable productionand consumption systems within a global system thatdrives production and consumption toward greaterintegration and homogenization under the control oftransnational corporations.

Wages for Wives: Renegotiating Gender and Production Relations in Contract Farming in the Dominican Republic

Abstract This study analyzes the intersection of gender and production relations in small-scale contracting in nontraditional agriculture. The case of the processing tomato industry in the Dominican Republic exemplifies patterns found throughout the region. Building on a critique of unitary household models, I analyze the gendered relations mobilizing resources for contract farming. As appears common, contracting has heightened demand for womens farm labor. Contracting has simultaneously provided women with openings for contesting the appropriation of their unpaid labor and many women are claiming payment for work in contract farming. This case demonstrates the importance of gender issues in informing contract farming debates and policy interventions.

NEW PLANTATIONS, NEW WORKERS Gender and Production Politics in the Dominican Republic

This study analyzes the gendered nature of recent production and labor force restructuring in the Dominican Republic. Using a longitudinal case study of work relations on a large transnational corporate pineapple plantation, the author explores the production politics involved in the initial corporate attempt to create a wage labor force and the subsequent replacement of employees with contracted labor crews. She demonstrates how female, and then male, labor forces were negotiated in this process and how labor relations became embedded in local gendered institutions. The study reveals how workforces and spheres of work are constituted through struggles over gender, as well as ethnicity and class, in intersecting arenas linking the local community to the global economy. In this case, gender proves critical in shaping both worker identity and the shifting scope and form of resistance to plantation practices.

THE ORGANIC AGRO-EXPORT BOOM IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Maintaining Tradition or Fostering Transformation?*

La República Dominicana ha emergido como el primer exportador de plátanos y cocoa orgánica, como exportador principal de café orgánico y exportador pionero de nuevos productos como mangos orgánicos. Aplicando un análisis de commodity network en contexto, explico el aumento de los productos orgánicos dentro de las fuerzas más amplias que afectan el crecimiento de la agricultura-exportación poco tradicional e identifico los factores clave que confi guran las redes de exportación orgánica hoy en día. El artículo analiza las implicaciones de las tendencias del mercado orgánico global para las exportaciones dominicanas y para los miles de pequeños productores involucrados. Mi investigación encontró que a pesar de la prominencia histórica de los pequeños productores, el aumento de la competencia internacional y de las expectativas de calidad por parte de los compradores están desplazando a los pequeños granjeros de productos orgánicos dominicanos. Las asociaciones de productores fuertes y las relaciones de los movimientos transnacionales son críticos para mejorar la situación de los pequeños granjeros de productos orgánicos en la República Dominicana, asimismo estos factores pueden ser cruciales en otros países latinoamericanos. The Dominican Republic has emerged as the world’s foremost exporter of organic bananas and cocoa, a top exporter of organic coffee, and an export pioneer in new commodities like organic mangos. Pursuing a contextualized commodity network approach, I explain the rise of organic products within the broader forces fueling nontraditional agro-export growth and identify the key factors confi guring organic export networks today. The article analyzes the implications of global organic market trends for Dominican exports and for the thousands of small producers involved. My research finds that despite their historical prominence, rising international competition and buyers’ quality expectations are working to displace or disempower small Dominican organic producers. Strong producer associations and transnational movement ties are critical in shoring up the position of small organic producers in the Dominican Republic and may be similarly crucial in other Latin American countries.

Regulating Corporate Responsibility in the American Market: A Comparative Analysis of Voluntary Certifications

Voluntary standard and certification systems are proliferating in the United States and around the world. While the majority of certification research draws on case studies, we pursue a cross-sectional empirical analysis of an original database of 108 certifications operating in the United States. We analyse the rise and configuration of private regulatory initiatives, variations in programme breadth and focus, and variations in programme participation and oversight requirements. We highlight the predominance of international and multi-stakeholder initiatives in the United States. Our research identifies substantial convergence in the ecological and social priorities of certification programmes and even greater convergence in their assessment and oversight procedures. Statistical analysis helps explain the prevalence of multi-stakeholder initiatives, but we find no significant differences between these and industry-led initiatives in their foci or procedures. We argue that there is a standardization of certification norms and practices which may mask important programme differences.

Handbook of research on fair trade

Fair trade critiques the historical inequalities inherent in international trade and seeks to promote social justice by creating alternative networks linking marginalized producers (typically in the global South) with progressive consumers (typically in the global North). The first of its kind, this volume brings together 43 of the foremost fair trade scholars from around the world and across the social sciences. The Handbook serves as both a comprehensive overview and in-depth guide to dominant perspectives and concerns. Chapters analyze the rapidly growing fair trade movement and market, exploring diverse initiatives and organizations, production and consumption regions, and food and cultural products. Written for those new to fair trade as well as those well versed in this domain, the Handbook is an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners interested in global regulation, multi-stakeholder initiatives, social and environmental certification, ethical labeling, consumer activism, and international development.

Introduction to research on fair trade

Contemporary fair trade research addresses a broad range of questions, draws on disparate theoretical traditions, employs diverse methodologies and is conducted by scholars of various disciplines and from different regions of the world. To capture this diversity, this Handbook brings together over 40 scholars from across the social sciences, including sociology, geography, political science, anthropology and economics, as well as the fields of business, environment and international development. While each scholar brings a distinct perspective to the study of fair trade, Handbook authors share a common commitment to linking theory with praxis. Most authors work in universities and research centers, though some are employed by government agencies or non-profit advocacy organizations. Reflecting the uneven geography of academic scholarship, most authors reside in North America and Europe, although a few are based in the global South and many work extensively in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Since several scholars typically do not publish in English, this volume provides a unique and insightful international perspective. Handbook authors pursue approaches that range from the highly theoretical to the rigorously empirical. Chapters address key macro-, meso- and micro-level questions, and their answers are informed by both qualitative and quantitative research methods (including commodity network research, content analysis, comparative case studies, formal modeling, historical narrative analysis and participatory action research) and a wide variety of data sources (such as survey responses, interviews, observations, archival documents, popular media, commissioned reports and extant scholarship). To enrich their theoretical insights and empirical relevance, Handbook authors analyze fair trade issues across numerous certified and non-certified commodities, including agro-food products like coffee, tea, cocoa, wine, sugar, flowers, fresh vegetables and honey as well as textiles and other handicrafts. The research compiled here maps the production, trade and consumption relations which characterize and link fair trade in the global North and South, grounding analysis in the experiences of key consuming countries (e.g., the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France and Switzerland) and major producing countries in Latin America (e.g., Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia), Africa (e.g., Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Malawi and South Africa) and Asia (e.g., India and the Philippines). This Handbook describes and evaluates fair trade’s varied dimensions and dynamics. Part I provides an overview of fair trade, beginning with this ‘Introduction to research on fair trade’ and continuing with a synopsis of fair trade’s historical and empirical parameters in Chapter 2, ‘Fair trade: Movement and markets’ by Laura Raynolds and Nicholas Greenfield. This chapter analyzes fair trade as a movement and market, focusing on the complex and contested nature of dominant institutions, market relations, commodity networks and production conditions. Raynolds and Greenfield demonstrate how fair trade social movement efforts to promote alternative relational and civic values have been repeatedly challenged, but not subsumed, by dominant market forces seeking to advance conventional commercial and industrial interests. Following the central lines of research in the field, the Handbook’s subsequent chapters are organized into three parts. Part II, ‘The Fair Trade Movement’, examines the varied forces which have historically shaped fair trade activism and organizations. It highlights the complexities, controversies and contradictions that have generated both innovation and fragmentation within the movement. Part III, ‘The Business of Fair Trade’, examines how the vision of fair trade has been put into practice. Thus, it pays close attention to the dynamics of ethical labeling, the strategies of firms, the role of market forces and shifting consumption patterns. And Part IV, ‘Fair Trade and International Development’, examines the implications of fair trade for diverse producers and their communities. Typically focusing on a single region, commodity or development objective, each chapter offers a unique perspective on the efficacy of fair trade as a vehicle for development in the global South. Together these sections provide an empirical description of fair trade; explain central theoretical arguments and approaches; outline key ideas, debates and findings; and evaluate the state of existing scholarship. The remainder of this introduction highlights the central concerns and conclusions of each chapter, and draws on them to discuss and comment on the overall state of research on fair trade.

Fairtrade labour certification: the contested incorporation of plantations and workers

Abstract Fair trade seeks to promote the well-being and empowerment of farmers and workers in the Global South. This article traces the contested growth and configuration of Fairtrade International labour certification, providing a multifaceted and dynamic view of private regulation. I explain why Fairtrade International began certifying large enterprises and how its hired labour strategy has developed over time, illuminating fair trade’s move from peasant to plantation sectors, stakeholder involvement in shaping the growth of Fairtrade labour certification, the internal and external balancing of farmer and worker concerns, and major innovations in Fairtrade’s ‘New Workers Rights Strategy’. My findings challenge the claim that recent market mainstreaming explains the rise of labour certification within fair trade and the more general argument that private regulatory programmes founded to foster empowerment evolve over time to prioritise a logic of control. As I document, Fairtrade International has recently moved to bolster producer power within its organisation and labour rights within its certification programme. My analysis reveals the dynamic nature of private regulatory programmes and the potentially influential role of diverse stakeholders in shaping the priorities of Fairtrade and other labour-standards systems.

Participatory commodity networking: An integrated framework for Fairtrade research and support

This article discusses the potential for humanizing production and trade relations by extending action research to multilateral commodity networks. Participatory action research and Fairtrade certification both promote social justice, but the first faces difficulties in terms of scalability, while the second experiences challenges in terms of producer support. As conventional research has failed to deliver methods for improving services, we worked with small-scale farmers in South Africa’s rooibos tea industry to meet this gap. Responding to producer concerns regarding market and certification access, we conducted a participatory research, training, and networking program to establish a farmer leadership network within the rooibos industry. Despite the challenges involved in advancing participation in an arena marked by complex power relations, our work helped stakeholders establish trust, improve knowledge, and begin addressing issues. By incorporating commodity network analysis into action research methodology, our model facilitates both community and organizational development, offering a multilateral framework for collaborative inquiry.