Mainstreaming the Alternative? The marketing of fair trade coffee and its implications for Sustainable Development

Abstract

This essay investigates the sustainability of a specific product, CafeDirect's Medium Roast coffee through an investigation of the global challenges the product is associated with. To start, the essay examines the significance of coffee and how it came to be an important cultural product and its commodity chain. Next, the fair trade movement is discussed and related to the market to consider what implications mainstreaming poses for the sustainable development movement more broadly.