Fair Trade Promotion: The Representation of Third World Women in Fair Trade Advocacy

Abstract

<p>For many countries export trade associated with agricultural foods, clothing, labour and services constitutes a major source of foreign exchange. However, the regions that produce and export the most goods are Africa and South and central South America and Asia. Farmers/producers continue to work in poor conditions on plantations, factories and sweatshops with inadequate wages and profit margins while the greatest consumers of their products are in developed countries. Recently awareness of these exploitative conditions for the producers have taken center stage in the advocacy of fair trade products in developed countries. The third world producer is voiceless to the consumers, fair trade organizations provide the avenue of a middle man that will address the concerns of the third world producer. How fair trade defines the problems and suggests the solutions to consumers is important because a frame must be relevant to the participants/readers and inform them. However relevancy can be constrained by empirical credibility or testability while it relates to participant experience, and it must fit in with existing cultural myths and narrations. Therefore how does fair trade advocacy represent the third world producer while maintaining relevancy to the ethical consumer. Lastly how is gender, specifically women, framed in the representation of third world producers in fair trade organization.</p>