Global Civil Society in Global Markets? Fair Trade Consumption Across the Global North

• In Event: New Developments in Global Civil Society Research-ARNOVA

Abstract

This research examines the role of global civil society in the formation and expansion of markets. In particular, we analyze the uneven formation and expansion of fair trade markets across the global North. A common contemporary form of fair trade uses product-level certification systems and third-party regulators to evaluate the implementation of fair trade standards. Focusing on this form of fair trade in which the market regulated at the product level dominates, we use fair trade sales data provided by Fairtrade International and Fair Trade USA which comprises the majority of the contemporary fair trade market. Data are total sales of fair trade goods across 30 countries from 1994 to 2013. Preliminary results indicate that national levels of connectedness to global civil society, measured as citizen memberships in international nongovernmental organizations, predicts a larger domestic fair trade market.

Authors

• Kristen Shorette, Stonybook University

• Heidi Rademacher, Stonybook University

• Carolyn Coburn, SUNY Stonybook University