ABSTRACT
The consumption end of the Fair Trade movement is growing more rapidly in the United States than in any other part of the world. From the turn of the millennium in 2000, sales of Fair Trade certified coffee have grown at rates in excess of 60 percent per year. To what can we attribute the extraordinary growth? To what extent does it come from evolving internal corporate culture? Is it little more than a onetime market competition force that provides little or no benefit to late entrants into the market? Does it simply reflect advocacy pressure from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that cannot be expected to continue? Answers to these questions will make important contributions to analyses of the durability of the movement and its likelihood for continued growth.
