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Abstract: This article analyzes the recent growth and configuration of Fair Trade networks connecting South African Rooibos tea producers with American consumer markets. As we demonstrate, Fair Trade’s growth in the Rooibos sector engages key issues of black empowerment, land reform, and sustainable development in post-Apartheid South Africa. Fair Trade networks provide small-scale black Rooibos producers with critical markets. Most significantly, the Wupperthal and Heiveld cooperatives have upgraded into processing and packaging and their jointly owned Fairpackers facility now exports shelf-ready Rooibos tea. Analyzing the nature of US Fair Trade Rooibos buyers and their South African sourcing arrangements, we identify key variations in Fair Trade commitment and engagement between mission-driven and market-driven distributors. While mission-driven buyers engage small-scale Rooibos cooperatives in multifaceted partnership networks, market-driven buyers pursue conventional sourcing strategies favoring purchases from large plantations and exporters. We conclude that tensions between a radical and commercial orientation toward Fair Trade in Rooibos tea networks in many ways mirror those in the broader movement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article reports that the recent settlement of a trademark dispute between various importers and marketers of rooibos tea and Virginia Burke-Watkins and her company Burke International of Dallas, Texas, provides a persuasive illustration of the importance of the trademark selection process and the pitfalls of attempting to proprietize the recognized common name for an herb in international commerce. Burke International and its principal owner, Virginia Burke-Watkins, acquired the trademark rooibos from Forever Young, a company in South Africa that had registered the mark in 1994 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in connection with, among other things, herbal teas. Since acquiring the rooibos mark, Burke International reportedly spent over $250,000 attempting to protect it. The company's settlement with Rooibos Ltd., came amid a flurry of lawsuits and other actions aimed at invalidating the trademark.

Reports that the total number of products and annual demand for specialty tea products in the United States has reached record levels, according to the report "Tea Is Hot Report," published by Sage Group International. Total sales in 2003; Sales of premium tea, flavored teas and herbal teas, such as yerba mate and rooibos; American tea culture's focus on stress reduction, product purity and exotic brewing accessories.