Ethical consumerism coming from the Global North to South: a case study of community forest users in Nepal

Fair Trade certification is designed to help disadvantaged producers and workers in the Global South improve their livelihoods by linking their products to ethical consumers in the Global North. Emerging Fair Trade markets in the North now require some Southern producers to respond to extra demands from Northern ethical buyers. Drawing on a case of community forest users who collect non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in Nepal, this paper explores how a new ethical value chain can influence the livelihoods of community forest users and their forest resources. Such influences are examined from three perspectives of the Environmental Justice framework: distributive, procedural, and recognitional. Findings suggest that the introduction of Fair Trade certification might lead to outcomes in opposition to the expectations of Northern ethical consumers, such as a small number of beneficiaries out of the target community, negative impact on forest resources, and procurement of the NTFPs outside the target forestland.