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products are grown. Once more, the value of partnerships for sustainable development can have a synergic effect.
9.7 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks
Fair trade was presented as an example of innovation for attaining sustainable development goals that deserved to be revisited and have its opportunities related to economic growth and income generation in rural areas of developing economies
brought into evidence under an evolutionary economic analysis. As from the review
of empirical contributions, the success story relied on multistakeholder partnerships, and their outcomes cannot be disregarded as an opportunity to address those
left behind within the economic dynamics. The innovative fair trade model has been
insightful in demonstrating the range and the reach of ethical consumerism in our
contemporary society, and its attempts to address inequalities evidenced by
globalisation.
Notwithstanding the benefits of fair trade, the initiative can be improved to
increase the outcomes. If all the criticisms are to be definitive about the fair trade
movement, if fair trade is just about a niche market strategy and not a greater movement for social change, if the original fair trade model is turning into a free trade and
if fair trade initiative is giving too much room for corporatisation, those constitute a
broad exploratory area for empirical research and development. If all those critics
make sense, fair trade organisations have the chance to review its pathways and
reinvent themselves to keep up with the social license conquered, in a continuous
process of creative destruction. Or the movement will tend to be replaced for a
model that readdresses its pitfalls.
The Thai rice case demonstrated the grounds to recognise the potential of fair
trade to create more jobs and to broaden decent work conditions for small producers
from developing countries involved in rice certification schemes, as well as the
associated environmental benefits, although it can be argued that these achievements are not universal when another fair trade food product as quinoa showed
diverse effects. The argument of inequalities growth associated with the quinoa case
works as a word of caution given the understandable motivation to bring highquality products into mainstream markets. With this in mind, there is need for more
systematic studies with different methodological approaches to assure that research
findings are available as a resource and tool for further sustainable development
actions and to assist in achieving the aims for social change brought by the fair trade
movement. In this sense, strengthening the link between actions and research is
strongly recommended.
A valuable remark is that as an alternative trade model, fair trade sheds light into
the viability of an agriculture development model that does not have to surrender
solely to the large agribusiness model to achieve economic growth. There is room
for sustainable development actions through inclusive models for small farmers
with the potential to increase job offerings and steady income sources within rural
9 SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
products are grown. Once more, the value of partnerships for sustainable development can have a synergic effect.
9.7 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks
Fair trade was presented as an example of innovation for attaining sustainable development goals that deserved to be revisited and have its opportunities related to economic growth and income generation in rural areas of developing economies
brought into evidence under an evolutionary economic analysis. As from the review
of empirical contributions, the success story relied on multistakeholder partnerships, and their outcomes cannot be disregarded as an opportunity to address those
left behind within the economic dynamics. The innovative fair trade model has been
insightful in demonstrating the range and the reach of ethical consumerism in our
contemporary society, and its attempts to address inequalities evidenced by
globalisation.
Notwithstanding the benefits of fair trade, the initiative can be improved to
increase the outcomes. If all the criticisms are to be definitive about the fair trade
movement, if fair trade is just about a niche market strategy and not a greater movement for social change, if the original fair trade model is turning into a free trade and
if fair trade initiative is giving too much room for corporatisation, those constitute a
broad exploratory area for empirical research and development. If all those critics
make sense, fair trade organisations have the chance to review its pathways and
reinvent themselves to keep up with the social license conquered, in a continuous
process of creative destruction. Or the movement will tend to be replaced for a
model that readdresses its pitfalls.
The Thai rice case demonstrated the grounds to recognise the potential of fair
trade to create more jobs and to broaden decent work conditions for small producers
from developing countries involved in rice certification schemes, as well as the
associated environmental benefits, although it can be argued that these achievements are not universal when another fair trade food product as quinoa showed
diverse effects. The argument of inequalities growth associated with the quinoa case
works as a word of caution given the understandable motivation to bring highquality products into mainstream markets. With this in mind, there is need for more
systematic studies with different methodological approaches to assure that research
findings are available as a resource and tool for further sustainable development
actions and to assist in achieving the aims for social change brought by the fair trade
movement. In this sense, strengthening the link between actions and research is
strongly recommended.
A valuable remark is that as an alternative trade model, fair trade sheds light into
the viability of an agriculture development model that does not have to surrender
solely to the large agribusiness model to achieve economic growth. There is room
for sustainable development actions through inclusive models for small farmers
with the potential to increase job offerings and steady income sources within rural
9 SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth