Fair Trade means an equitable and fair partnership between marketers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other parts of the world. A fair trade partnership works to provide low-income artisans and farmers with a living wage for their work.
Source: Fair Trade Federation
Fair Trade Criteria
- Paying a fair wage in the local context
- Offering employees opportunities for advancement
- Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices
- Being open to public accountability
- Building long-term trade relationships
- Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context
- Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible
- Ensuring that there is no abuse of child labor
Why Fair Trade?
Our consumer spending choices affect people's lives around the world. The products we enjoy are often made in conditions that harm workers, communities and the environment. But increasingly consumers are demanding more humane, more environmentally sensitive products.
In today's world economy, where profits rule and small-scale producers are left out of the bargaining process, farmers, craft producers, and other workers are often left without resources or hope for their future. Fair Trade helps exploited producers escape from this cycle and gives them a way to maintain their traditional lifestyles with dignity.
What Fair Trade Products are Available?
Fair Trade encompasses a range of goods, from agricultural products from the global South like coffee, chocolate, tea, and bananas, to handcrafts like clothing, household items, and decorative arts.
How to Identify Fair Trade Products
Fair Trade products can be identified by the "Fair Trade Certified"
label or the Fair Trade Federation logo on a product. The "Fair Trade
Certified" system involves non-profit organizations in 17 different
countries, all affiliated with Fairtrade Labeling Organizations
International. In the USA, TransFair USA places the "Fair Trade
Certified" label on coffee, cocoa, tea, bananas and other fruits. This
label is product-specific, meaning that its presence on one product
doesn't mean that all of the companies products are Fair Trade. The
Fair Trade Federation is an association of businesses that follow fair
trade principles across the board, so its presence on a product DOES
mean that a company supports the highest level of commitment to fair
trade -100%.
Who Benefits from Fair Trade?
The Fair Trade system benefits over 800,000 farmers organized into
cooperatives and unions in 48 countries. Fair Trade has helped farmers
provide for their families' basic needs and invest in community
development. However, these farmers are still selling most of their
crop outside of the Fair Trade system because not enough companies are
buying at Fair Trade prices.
