ABSTRACT
Fair Trade is an example that society and market are able to create grassroots institutional solutions to counter the major challenges of the 21st century. Born out of the movement, the Fair Trade market, promotes responsible production and consumption, responding to the need for society and market to become more involved in sustainable development. The author argues that Fair Trade represents a new unique type of market which, due to its specific features, contributes to a more pro-social functioning of the entire market. Introducing the concept of a Dispersed Hybrid Market (DHM) she explains the distinctive characteristics of this market, its spillover effects, and its developmental paradoxes. Exploring barriers, threats, and challenges to its development she outlines possible scenarios of its development and draws conclusions on the desirable role of the state towards such a market. This study demonstrates, thus, what was underestimated about Fair Trade as a socio-economic phenomenon, and which is extremely important that it can have a positive impact on the entire market in terms of sustainability transformation. It also shows that little regulatory support from the state, not distorting competitive conditions and increasing its legitimacy as a social movement, may reinforce this impact.
