Ethical Commodities: Issues in Their Production, Credibility, and Trade

The production and trade of commodities designated as ethical or sustainable has grown exponentially in recent years. Historically, it has been the purview of governmental policies and international agreements to foster and support products and services that increase sustainability. In recent years, however, parts of that role have been substantially undertaken by markets and civil society in the form of corporate social responsibility initiatives and voluntary standards or ecolabels. These efforts have grown rapidly in commodities such as palm oil, sugar, cotton, cocoa, and coffee over the past two decades. However, the future of these voluntary standards is unclear since, on the one hand, they depend largely on consumer trust but, on the other hand, are based on limited evidence and on systems of compliance that can be fragile.