Reason on Fairtrade

Check out "Absolution in Your Cup: The Real Meaning of Fair Trade coffee" by Kerry Howley, in Reason:

Katzeff is now among TransFair’s critics, but he is also an architect of the social
awareness the company sells. The story of the impoverished coffee farmer lifted
up by conscientious consumption is a message to which consumers clearly have
responded—whether they’re going to Starbucks or protesting in front of one. If
Fair Trade’s methodology has sometimes faltered, its marketing never has.