The paper examines the theoretical basis of fair trade as justice. Grounded largely in the work of Amartya Sen, it looks at the origins, motivations, and elements of fair trade. Fair trade is examined as a potentially transformational form of justice. The intellectual merit of this paper is to examine how fair trade outcomes advance our theoretical understanding of justice. The broader impact is to create a dialogue around understanding fair trade which can lead to further development of just and equitable trade systems worldwide.