Second Summary

Brown, M. B., (1993). Fair Trade; Reform and Realities in the International Trading System. New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd

The Division of World Resources between Rich and Poor

There is currently an unequal world, where the division between the North and South is remarkable, with industrialised land in the North and a much poorer underdeveloped world in the south – ‘The Third World’. The point the author is making is: How much can current trade practices be changed to benefit all in the future? Can world resources be saved and economic and environmental sustainability be maintained? The author explains that most of the world’s resources come from the developed world and only non-renewable resources are being produced in the third world. World population is huge, with the majority of people living in third world countries. Those people occupy only just over half the cultivable land, explaining why they are probably so poor.

The author states that the problems they are facing now could be a result of the population growing too fast for the amount of land that is actually occupied and cultivated and this problem could increasingly worsen. Some developed nations could have the best, although less, cultivable land for crop growing and still have as much agricultural production as the third world as a whole. In reaction to this, rain forests are being cut down so people in tropical areas can use the land for cultivating on, but, due to a lack of understanding about how it should be looked after, it eventually becomes useless.

The author suggests that there is an increasing weight on third world countries and this is down to the divide in labour output between the different worlds. The problem is that third world countries only have crops from the land which is all they can trade into markets. The access to some of this ground is a problem, even if it is productive.

Most of the produce imported to the ‘First World’ is essential foods for protein but the food mainly exported to third world countries is not so they are left with a lack of protein in their diet. The author suggests that this problem could be helped by moving foods moved into more deprived areas. The amount of food being produced is not being shared fairly. Deprived areas have less food because farmers are waiting for the prices to increase and there is not enough transporting of goods between themselves.

The question is: Is there any point in third world countries increasing their place in world trade if the division of inequalities is so large? Should they increase trade between each other instead? The author suggests that third world countries should stop exporting raw materials to the developed world and keep what resources they have left to expand trade between themselves.

To conclude, Third World countries only do well when world trade is high but then it generally ends up falling again. There is no advantage in trade between the different worlds, as it’s not always reliable and dependent on the state of the world economy

I feel researching factors like population growth and land cultivation helps give me a better understanding of the inequalities between the North and South divide.

Assignment 4 - First Summary

Raynolds, L.T, Murray, D., (2007). Fair Trade, The Challenges of Transforming Globalization. USA: Routledge

Contemporary Challenges and future prospects

The chapter discusses the challenges facing Fair Trade in its efforts to transform globalisation and to develop economic and environmental sustainability in the Third World, through different trade practices in the market. It also views its increasing growth as an organisation, focusing on the clear tensions created working in and against the market.

As FairTrade has rapidly developed and grown over recent years, the author states that this has given rise to a number of challenges, which could become a future threat unless changes are made. It is mentioned that there are obvious contradictions within the trade practise of Fair Trade and market priorities. Fair trade seeks for improved changes in trade practises and pushes for a more equal trade between northern consumers and southern producers, whilst still promoting ethical values. It is looked at from different perspectives and the author explains why there is a divide in the movement. Some people see Fair Trade as a development which is trying to promote fairer trade practices and values within the market, based on factors like sustainability. Others see it as more of a commercial venture, in which Fair Trade and the market values and practices are still mainly dominant.

The author questions whether the growth of Fair Trade is a sign of achievement. Or, has Fair Trade’s principles and practices been over looked due to commercial success?

The author highlights some central challenges facing Fair Trade now. There has been a huge shift from supporting small alternative organisations to encompassing a large number of committed consumers, so many more certified products have been made available for sale in markets. Some people see this as a success in reshaping market relations but others see it only as attempts to profit from Fair Trade products. FLO has increased certified sales to maximise the amount of workers and producers benefiting from being part of Fair Trade, but the market is demanding they have more reliable supplies to offer. The author explains that FLO are more interested in where Fair Trade stands within the market rather than the concerns of north/south inequalities. The smaller alternative organisations are concerned about getting less notice than larger distributors who actually certify less Fair Trade products than themselves. If present trade practices continue then the success of equality in trade could be questioned.

The number of Fair Trade workers has increased as Fair Trade merges production units to manage quantity and quality requirements. Some think this shows Fair Trade’s ability to support small scale farmers but others think it just highlights North/South inequalities. The trends in the market now are pushing out the smaller scale producers as bigger distributors have increasing quality production and therefore the author questions whether small producers are benefiting. Certain quality requirements such as shifting to organic production could possibly create difficulties for disadvantaged producers, questioning Fair Trade’s strategies for small scale producers. Diversity of production is also being demanded by the market, again disadvantaging small scale farmers. The demands of northern markets are affecting the activities of Fair Trade workers.

It is the author’s opinion that the central challenge to Fair Trade is the dominance of retailers and branders who are more interested in market values rather than the organisation’s aims and that the practices and strategies adopted by the movement should remain focused on the small scale producers.