While many studies analyzed effects of sustainability standards - such as Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance - on smallholder farmers in developing countries, most did not sufficiently account for systematic differences between certified and non-certified farmers. Certified farmers are typically...

The transition toward a more sustainable agricultural production has become an essential step in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), launched by the United Nations in 2015. Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) have been proposed as a useful governance tool for guiding this...

Fairtrade standards differentiate themselves from other sustainability standards such as Rainforest Alliance and UTZ by demanding that buyers pay to farmers at least a minimum price and a Fairtrade social premium - a sum that is paid to cooperatives in addition to the agreed price to be used in...

It is often assumed that voluntary sustainability standards - such as Fairtrade - could not only improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of smallholder farmers in developing countries but could also help to reduce negative health and environmental impacts of agricultural production. The empirical...

It is often assumed that voluntary sustainability standards - such as Fairtrade - could not only improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of smallholder farmers in developing countries but could also help to reduce negative health and environmental impacts of agricultural production. The empirical...

Sustainability standards such as Fairtrade, UTZ, and Rainforest Alliance have recently gained importance in global value chains, with some of the major tropical commodities seeing significant increases in the share of their certified area in the last ten years. This trend is directly related to...