If you’ve thought about buying fair trade products but are not sure (or are a bit cynical) about what happens to the extra money you’re paying, this book is a good introduction to what is now a truly global movement. Structured as a collection of essays from various key figures in the fair trade movement, this book tells the story from the perspective of both the producers and the consumers.

One essayist interviews a banana farmer in Ecuador, while another chapter is written by the fruit buyer for a major supermarket chain. Edited by John Bowes, former managing director of a UK fair trade organisation, the essays are primarily focused on the fair trade movement in the UK and Europe. According to the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, consumer recognition of the fair trade label is 37% in Australia. In the UK, consumer recognition is at 70%, so this book is a celebration of the success of a movement which is still perhaps finding its feet in this country. However with fair trade products still less than 1% of total UK grocery sales, the movement still has a long way to go and the book does acknowledge the complex challenges it faces.

After recently seeing a documentary that was critical of the fair trade auditing process, I was interested in how the book would address this bad publicity. The documentary investigated several fair trade certified tea plantations and uncovered appalling working conditions that would certainly fail to meet fair trade standards. While the book does openly acknowledge that the system isn’t perfect and that the auditing process is constantly under review, I would have liked more information about specific improvements in this area.

It was interesting to read that there is a growing concern about the carbon footprint of fair trade and this is presenting a new challenge. How is the movement to continue to grow when climate change is now a dominating issue and local trade becomes a priority to the consumer? The book addresses this issue well and ultimately is convincing that fair trade will continue to be successful at promoting sustainable farming and improving the lives of impoverished farmers in the developing world.

Kara Nicholson is from Readings Carlton.