Démocratie et gouvernance dans la certification commerce équitable : le cas des coopératives féminines de production d’huile d’argan au Maroc

International audienceSouthern producers who participate in fair trade are encouraged to adopt a democratic governance whose criteria are supposed to be applied to their internal management as well as to their relations with their various partners. In this context, certification cannot be reduced to an instrument of trust limited to the economic dimension nor to a tool for measuring democratic producers’ behavior on a purely ethical dimension. Certification combines several dimensions and this combination creates issues for fair trade that are likely to go far beyond the implications taken into account in the economic and ethical dimensions considered separated.The comparative analysis of two women's argan oil cooperatives in Morocco highlights very different action modes beyond the conformity with the democratic criteria evaluated by the certification. This difference can be explained by organizational, cultural and territorial specificities. The research reveals a multifaceted, emerging world, that challenges the unaddressed effects of certification, and leads to propose scenarios about the possible future of certification ethical role in fair trade