The largest vacuum in fair trade research, however, has to be producers. It is
almost impossible to write on the fair trade movement’s impact on producers beyond
hearsay and conjecture because there is a lack of rigorous research into producers.
This is especially problematic when trying to compare different forms of fair trade
value chain because the scant research to date is mostly conducted with FTO supply
chains. Has dilution, co-optation or capture of fair trade by mainstream
corporations actually negatively affected fair trade producers, or is the enhanced
volume of sales eclipsing any declining standards?