Un-Fair Trade and Sustainability Systems

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Voluntary sustainability systems and responsible sourcing promise to address adverse social and environmental outcomes within global value chains. But un-fair trade continues to disadvantage producers and workers in the Global South. Why have they failed? What should we learn from them?

Drawing on 30 years of research and policy advice, this book examines the roots of sustainability systems in colonial trade and traces their proliferation under multinational retailers in the agrifood and garment sectors.

It questions whether current sustainability systems truly benefit workers and small-scale producers, especially women. It argues there are structural tensions between short-term profit-driven business models and long-term sustainability goals. A searching assessment of the robustness of voluntary initiatives and the role of government regulation shows how we could make trade fairer for a more sustainable future.