What is Fair Trade

Fair trade is a social and economic movement based on the ideals of sustainability and equality in international trade. The roots of the fair trade movement can be found in the U.S. organization Ten Thousand Villages. It started purchasing needlework and other crafts from villages in Puerto Rico in the 1940s, returning the resulting profits to the people that made them. The Ten Thousand Villages project grew, and similar organizations sprouted up in countries around the world, with the U.K.'s Oxfam and the Dutch Third World Shop being two of the best known.

The philosophies behind the fair trade movement are based on industry's exploitation of local artists and farmers across the developing world. Fair trade activists found that many artists producing beautiful local crafts were living in poverty and squalor, even while their artwork was being sold for substantial amounts in developed countries. The large profits from these crafts were being pocketed by middlemen, and the artists themselves were being paid next to nothing for their beautiful work. This problem was also present in the production of tea, coffee, sugar and other food products grown in developing countries. Fair trade was set up to establish a balance between producer and consumer in international trade.

According to the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), fair trade organizations must adhere to 10 principles including:

• Development of producers' independence
• Transparent and accountable management of trade
• Payment of a fair price to producers
• Healthy working conditions for producers
• Gender equity.

Those organizations that subscribe to these principles of fair trade can be certified as fair trade producers and market their products with fair trade logos.

Fair trade certification is done by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO-International). FLO-International is an independent nonprofit with 23 members across the world and manages fair trade certifications. There are many details that go into certifying products and organizations as fair trade; most center around the fair trade philosophies of sustainability and equity. FLO-International strives to ensure that certified products are made by employees who receive decent wages and are able to join unions. It also ensures that no products are made by forced or child labor. The International Fairtrade Certification Mark is issued to those products that conform to the standards of FLO-International.Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade

www.wfto.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLO_International

Content by E.A. Anne, Associated Content for MercaTrade.com

There are many advantages to purchasing fair trade products. Consumers are guaranteed that their purchases have conformed to a certain standard of sustainability and equity. Fair trade helps producers to overcome poverty and marginalization, and ensures safe and healthy working conditions for producers.

Critics of fair trade are generally proponents of free trade and argue that fair trade is a "price distortion," which will cause producers to produce more, thus affecting the balance of supply and demand. Additionally, many consumers are wary of purchasing fair trade products because the prices are generally higher.

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