Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of the development and implementation of social accounting at the UK fair trade organisation Traidcraft plc. Design/methodology/approach – Using an ethnographic approach, the paper critically reflects on the role of this emerging...

Purpose – Social entrepreneurship will play a big role in bringing the growth to the rural masses in India and so it becomes important to study the factors, like fair trade, that will shape the social entrepreneurship philosophy. Design/methodology/approach – Primary information has been...

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the increased mass‐marketing in the fair trade industry to provide a robust analysis of the industry, participants and growth for use both as a starting‐point for researchers in this field and as a case study for readers with an interest in any...

Purpose – This paper seeks to bring together ethical governance theory and empirical findings to examine the shifting nature of governance in global value chains, and the implications of this shift for mainstream companies. In particular, it aims to examine one of the more mature models of...

Purpose – This paper aims to consider the impact of Fair Trade on producers with particular reference to women involved in Fair Trade production. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers Fair Trade as an alternative to rational economic models of free trade and as a tool for...

Purpose – The movement of profit‐orientated corporations into the fair trade value chain has caused some socially orientated fair trade organizations to question the direction the movement is taking. One organization at the forefront of the debate is Trade Aid (NZ), Inc. (hereafter Trade...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the meanings and business practices of four Southern Fair Trade enterprises (SFTEs). Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on research with four SFTEs in Bangladesh, taking an ethnographic approach with qualitative methodologies...

Purpose – This paper critically examines the marketing of fair trade, arguing that the use of the term producer conflates a number of categories of actors, not all of whom benefit equally. The authors contend that the two existing archetypes – the noble peasant farmer and the independent...

Purpose – This editorial article aims to introduce the special issue of Critical Perspectives on International Business entitled “Critical perspectives on fair trade”. Design/methodology/approach – The editorial provides a brief overview of the subject of fair trade, with an emphasis on...

Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the value of a network perspective in enhancing the understanding of the business to consumer marketing of high‐involvement product categories. This is achieved through the analysis of the development of fair trade marketing in the UK....