Fair Trade Enclaves

Labour and Livelihoods in Costa Rica’s Banana Industry

Layla Zaglul Ruiz (London School of Economics, UK)

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English

Routledge
01 April 2025

Regional studies; Development studies; Hispanic & Latino studies; Social & cultural anthropology; Sales & marketing

Series: Routledge Studies in Anthropology

Fair Trade Enclaves tells the story of exploitation and inequality in the production of Fair Trade bananas. It draws on immersive fieldwork in Costa Rica, which was the original testing ground for US-owned plantations and is today the world’s third-largest exporter of bananas. The book offers an ethnographic study of Fair Trade’s impact on the ‘Dollar’ banana system and considers how the growth in Fair Trade affects workers’ livelihoods at the source of production. It documents the labour conditions and daily struggles of Costa Rican banana workers, featuring a comparative anthropological assessment of Fair Trade and conventional farms. The chapters provide a window onto Fair Trade’s ability to effect change within one of the world’s most exploitative and enduring commodity chains, exposing how Fair Trade currently fails to challenge the structural exploitation of banana production within the dollar system. The author reveals how, in some respects, workers at the conventional farm enjoy better conditions compared with those employed on the Fair Trade farm. The book is valuable reading for scholars of Anthropology, Development, and Latin American Studies.

By: Layla Zaglul Ruiz (London School of Economics UK)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 420g
ISBN: 9781032600109
ISBN 10: 1032600101
Series: Routledge Studies in Anthropology
Pages: 134
Publication Date: 01 April 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments 1. Introduction Disjunctions in the Fair Trade Movement Fair Trade Enclaves within Neoliberalism The Discourse of Crisis Self-exploitation and Co-ownership Research Methods and Positionality 2. Producing bananas in Costa Rica Producing Alianza (and Caché) bananas Conclusions 3. Contracts Working hours and payment Freedom of association Conclusions 4. Caché: controlling through conflict and violence Alianza: Relatedness and kindship on the shopfloor Conclusions 5. Discourse of crisis in public and private spheres The shop floor in crisis Conclusion 6. The evolution of banana quality standards Surviving the market with Extra Class bananas More restrictions, the same ‘perfect fruit’ Is first-class consumption ethical? Conclusion 7. The lack of social capital Agrofair’s modus operandi Conclusion 8. Conclusion. Index

Layla Zaglul Ruiz is a Canning House Research Fellow in the Latin America and Caribbean Center at the London School of Economics, UK.