1st Edition

Fair Trade, Corporate Accountability and Beyond Experiments in Globalizing Justice

Edited By Kate Macdonald, Shelley Marshall Copyright 2010
    406 Pages
    by Routledge

    406 Pages
    by Routledge

    As trade and production have increasingly crossed international boundaries, private bodies and governments alike have sought new ways to regulate labour standards and advance goals of fairness and social justice. Governments are harnessing social and market forces to advance corporate accountability, while private bodies are employing techniques drawn from command and control regulation to shape the behaviour of business. This collection brings together the research and reflections of a diverse international mix of academics, activists and practitioners in the fields of fair trade and corporate accountability, representing perspectives from both the industrialized and developing worlds. Contributors provide detailed case studies of a range of social justice governance initiatives, documenting the evolution of established strategies of advocacy and social mobilization, and evaluating the strengths and limitations of voluntary initiatives compared with legally enforceable instruments.

    Introduction; 1: Social Governance in a Global Economy: Introduction to an Evolving Agenda; I: Individual and Civic Action Through Fair Trade; 2: Fair Trade at the Centre of Development; 3: Developing Markets, Building Networks: Promoting Fair Trade in Asia; 4: Mainstreaming Fair Trade: Fair Trade Brands and the Problem of Ownership; 5: What Gives Fair Trade its Right to Operate? Organizational Legitimacy and Strategic Management; 6: Voluntarism and Fair Trade; II: Responsible Consumers and Corporations; 7: Corporations and Global Justice: Rethinking ‘Public' and ‘Private' Responsibilities; 8: Corporate Responsibility and Stakeholder Governance: Relevance to the Australian Garment Sector; 9: CSR and Policy Incoherence; 10: Fair Consumption? Consumer Action on Labour Standards 1; III: Mobilized Workers; 11: Corporate Accountability and the Potential for Workers' Representation in China; 12: The Threat Posed by ‘Corporate Social Responsibility' to Trade Union Rights; 13: Can CSR Help Workers Organize? An Examination of the Lessons Learnt and an Exploration of a New Way Forward; 14: Corporate Accountability through Community and Unions: Linking Workers and Campaigning to Improving Working Conditions across the Supply Chain; 15: Triangular Solidarity as an Alternative to CSR and Consumer-based Campaigning; IV: A Strengthened and Transformed Role for the State; 16: Regional Trade Agreements in the Pacific Islands: Fair Trade for Farmers?; 17: Crowding Out or Ratcheting Up? Fair Trade Systems, Regulation and New Governance; 18: The Regulatory Impact of Using Public Procurement to Promote Better Labour Standards in Corporate Supply Chains; 19: CSR is Not the Main Game: The Renewed Domestic Response to Labour Abuses in China; Conclusion; 20: Experiments in Globalizing Justice: Emergent Lessons and Future Trajectories

    Biography

    Kate Macdonald studied Economics, Politics and Development Studies at the University of Melbourne, and International Development at Oxford University. She worked as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University in 2006, and joined the LSE as a Tutorial Fellow in January 2007. Her research interests are in the areas of Global Political Economy; Global Governance (particularly Labour and Social Governance); Global Poverty and Social Exclusion; Fair Trade; Corporate Accountability; Globalisation and the Developing World; Non-State Actors in World Politics. Shelley Marshall is Lecturer, Business Law and Texation, Monash University, Australia

    'The last decade has borne witness to increasing efforts by social movements, business, consumers, and others to achieve a more just and fair world. This book provides a timely assessment of the success of such initiatives, and the challenges they face in the decade ahead to achieve greater global justice.' Cameron Neil, Fairtrade Labelling Australia and New Zealand 'An excellent and timely book. It presents a rich array of studies on fair trade and CSR initiatives. The analysis provides essential insights into the different approaches, and succinctly clarifies common and divergent themes. An essential read for researchers and practitioners interested in this field. Highly recommended.' Stephanie Barrientos, University of Manchester, UK 'This collection, written by academics and practitioners, focuses on the social responsibilities of corporations...the text bristles with a broad spectrum of ideas and insights. The book should interest those concerned with fair trade, corporate social responsibility, and the interests of labor in social justice...Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.' Choice 'This edited collection [...] shares a useful analytical framework that brings an institutional perspective to the issue of redressing injustice and augmenting social justice in the global marketplace. ... the book is rich with accounts of various initiatives related to social justice ...' International Journal of Consumer Studies