Fair Trade Fundamentals

by: Catherine Jones

You’re buying coffee. One label says this roasted mountain-fresh Colombian coffee is ideal for all coffee makers. But is it ideal for the coffee bean’s maker, the farmer? Your choice is empowering. When you choose fair trade, you get more than coffee; you get the opportunity to enrich someone’s life.

What Is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is an international alternative trading system designed to empower disadvantaged farmers, artisans, and labourers. The movement began 50 years ago when international aid organizations worked to help farmers and labourers in Africa break free from oppressive trading practices. These inequitable trading practices still exist today.

Farmers and artisans in developing countries rely on intermediaries for market information and trade. These middlemen usually pay less than market price and keep the producers trapped in a cycle of poverty. Small-scale farmers can’t afford to produce the crop. They can’t afford the overhead or their financing’s interest rates. They abandon their farms, or, in the case of some cocoa producers, they “employ” unpaid workers, often children.

Through fair trade, farmers and artisans deal directly with members of fair trade organizations, bypassing the middleman and receiving a fair and sustainable wage for their work. According to the Fair Trade Federation, the goal of a member organization is “to benefit the artisans they work with, not maximize profits. By reducing the number of middlemen and minimizing overhead costs, FTOs (fair trade organizations) return up to 40 percent of the retail price of an item to the producer.” Producers receive a fair wage for their product, children are not exploited, and long-term relationships are encouraged to provide continuity in trading. Fair trade considers the enduring well-being of the person behind the product.

Who Decides What’s Fair?

In Canada, the Fair Trade Certified logo is managed by TransFair Canada, a nonprofit organization that belongs to the international Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO). Use of the logo comes with very strict rules and terms, to which all members are bound by contract.

The Canadian Fair Trade Certified logo is applied to product-specific items only, meaning that the product, not the company, is certified as fair trade. On the other hand, the Fair Trade Federation logo identifies the company as a certified member. Two of the largest members in the US are Ten Thousand Villages and SERRV International.

The Fair Trade Federation and FLO monitor their producers and members. They ensure that the playing field of trade is level and fair. For the consumer, these logos assure that the goods are produced in environmentally responsible conditions and that the cultures and communities of the worker are respected and sustained.

Is It Working?

Yes. According to the Fair Trade Federation, sales for Ten Thousand Villages in the US and Canada between 1985 and 1998 increased by nearly $15 million, creating over 12,000 full-time jobs for artisans and farmers.

As more consumers use their purchasing power for social justice, large corporations consider the fair trade alternative. Currently, there are 117 Canadian fair trade licensees, and 44 source countries are registered with the FLO. Today’s fair trade products include crafts, coffee, tea, chocolate, soaps, cosmetics, sugar, and fruit. Coming soon are wines, nuts, oils, and more.

A consumer in Canada buys fair trade and a child in Colombia goes to school.

That’s a strong cup of coffee.

About The Author

Catherine Jones has focused her writing and editing career on health and safety. She is a regular contributor to alive magazine. Visit http://alive.com for related articles.

Fair trade

If you are interested in fair trade, here's a little guide that will help you make your purchases.

Fair trade can affect all kinds of articles. You can buy clothes, food, stationery and furniture through fair trade.
Fair trade based solely on the principle of sustainable development: any object fairly marketed must guarantee to the final manufacturers decent working conditions and perennial.

If you want to buy fair trade products, you have several options. You can be helpful to you in the city. In this case, take the time to visit the site of the CCTB (Platform for Fair Trade), where you can view lists of shops shops fair near you, depending on the product you are looking for.
To purchase decorative objects and folk craft, for example, you can visit shops fair trade "Artisans du Monde." And if you are seduced by the concept of fair trade, do not hesitate to offer your services to one of the associations that the practice: Volunteers are always welcome…

If you wish, you can also buy your products trade fair on the Internet. In this case, you will benefit from a wider choice. To quickly find a maximum of web shops fair trade, use a comparator software prices. In a few seconds, you will get a comprehensive list of web addresses fair trade.

What is the definition of fair trade?

For most of us, the definition of fair trade is more or less obvious. However, it is a term that hire commercial collaborations, which has been defined very carefully by the international structures of fair trade.

Here is the definition which have agreed the four major international organizations of Fair Trade (FLO, IFAT, NEWS and EFTA): "Fair Trade is a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect, the objective is to achieve greater equity in global trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions and guaranteeing the rights of producers and marginalized workers, especially in the South of the planet.

The fair trade organizations (backed by consumers) are committed to actively supporting producers, awareness raising and campaigning for change in the rules and practices of international trade treaty. "
This indicates that the definition of fair trade made by these four body induces a strong political and economic integration of major players.

This definition of fair trade does not only a process of selling a little more respectful, but a full-fledged commitment. If you are interested in fair trade and want to help, you can start by buying products from this trade. You can buy almost anything in fair trade: furniture, cosmetics, decoration, food… But you also serve fair trade by helping to circulate around you.