The growing debate about sustainable development in the Western society was first focused on environmental issues but the social issues have during the last years been highlighted in relation to business activities in low income countries. In a more globalized world we see more and more companies in the West move their production or their purchases to suppliers in low income countries in Asia. The debate led by NGOs stresses child labor, poor working conditions, low salaries and environmental problems in factories in Asian countries such as China and India. The demands from NGOs and customers in the West for a fairer trade with low income countries have created the arena of Fair Trade. A Fair Trade label has been developed which is based on the International Labor Organization’s criteria for human rights and farmers will be paid a minimum price and a premium for their products. The Fair Trade label idea could be seen as societal entrepreneurship where the aim is to help poor farmers in low income countries to develop their societies and be able to make a reasonable income.
The paper is based on a study of how a Fair Trade textile company in Sweden interplays with other organizations such as business customers, suppliers in India and NGOs and how they act as societal entrepreneurs for changing the situation in India regarding to social and environmental issues. The paper discusses how the organizations interplay regarding Fair Trade and how this interplay is handled and understood by the actors in relation to the contexts of Sweden and India. The diffusion and translation process of Fair Trade and sustainability issues in India is focused on Western management models such as standards and certifications due to demands from Western customers who focus on control and legitimacy. The process seems to give both opportunities and consequences for the organizations studied, both in India and in Sweden.