The Journal of Fair Trade is a new independent, peer-reviewed academic journal launched by the Journal of Fair Trade Society, in February 2019, to reclaim the best practices and values that contribute to mutuality and fairness in trade. The Journal aims to be a source of the leading research on Fair Trade. The Journal of Fair Trade Society website provides a forum and funnel for new work, ideas and debate.

The Journal provides a much-needed independent space in which to discuss the ever-changing practical and theoretical approaches to making the world a more just place through business and trade. The term ‘Fair Trade’ includes certification systems and all efforts to ensure trade is fair for all. Unafraid to be outspoken, the goal of the Journal is to catalyse significant improvements in the way all types of trade deliver social and environmental justice.

The Journal and the Journal of Fair Trade Society publish independent academic work, briefings and articles. They promote new voices and experiences from cooperatives, producer organisations and practitioners, as well as Fair Trade businesses and corporations striving to be responsible global citizens. The founders of this Journal want to encompass the full range of interests and voices that need to be heard on these issues. For information on how to submit to the Journal, please click here.

Editor-in-Chief

Pauline Tiffen, Editor-in-Chief 
Emma Anderson, Journal Manager, 

Editorial Board

The Guidelines for Authors are here with details of article types and submission requirements as well as our Open Access Publishing Permissions .

The Journal of Fair Trade welcomes submissions from anyone who wishes to contribute to the debate on the challenges and future of Fair Trade. All contributions will be constructively reviewed in line with the Journal’s single-blind peer review policy.

The Journal of Fair Trade Volume 7 Issue 1 – Call for papers  on The Life and Work of Frans van der Hoff. The Journal of Fair Trade is calling for papers to curate a Special Edition on “The Life and Work of Frans van der Hoff”. Read more here on the Special JOFT Issue on The life, work and legacy of Frans van der Hoff.  Guidelines for contributors are available here. 

We welcome submissions by 1st December 2025. 
If you have ideas or questions please email Emma Anderson, emma.anderson@joft.org.uk .

Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Pauline Tiffen, at paulinetiffen@joft.org.uk

Journal Manager, Emma Anderson, emma.anderson@joft.org.uk

Fair Trade Society Membership enquiries membersupport@plutojournals.com

Publisher, Pluto Journals, evek@plutojournals.com

The journal is biannual, published online in approx May and October. The electronic journal is archived in Portico. 

The journal is Open Access and the Open Access statement, Open Access license terms, copyright terms as well as a statement on its absolute lack of author charges can be found here. 

The journal became Open Access on 1 January 2021 and is published open access on ScienceOpen and JSTOR. All journal material published prior to 1 January 2021 is also published, open access on  ScienceOpen and JSTOR. This means the Reuse rights of published material is all under the open CC BY 4.0 license as stated here. 

The journal adheres to the ethical standards endorsed by the Committee on Publication Ethics. In particular:

1. We expect all authors to state in their article if they have a conflict of interest which could potentially bias their opinions – for example funding or employment.
2. All named authors on the articles should confirm that they have jointly participated in the research and writing of the article, and that no author has been omitted from the list of authors.
3. We require authors to warrant that their articles are original, have not been previously published, and do not plagiarise or otherwise copy someone else’s work without attribution. (If the article is a translation, we are happy to consider this for publication but the authors must inform the editors on submission).
4. We also require authors to warrant that their article does not defame, libel, or bring another person into disrepute, and neither does it contain anything illegal (e.g. copyright infringing).