What Is Fair Trade?

A Strategy To Alleviate Poverty By Offering Improved Terms Of Trade To Producers
Accepted definitions of Fair Trade may vary, yet as defined by the Fair Trade Federation, it is ”a strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable development…[in which] members place the interests of producers and their communities as the primary concern of their enterprise.”

Similarly, according to the Fairtrade Labelling Organization: “Fair trade is an alternative approach to conventional trade and is based on a partnership between producers and consumers…offer[ing] producers a better deal and improved terms of trade.”

Fair trade has gained greater prominence in the U.S. as it pertains to imported commodities like coffee, chocolate and tea. For these goods, fair trade focuses on eliminating middlemen in order to guarantee a price floor for producers in the Global South (typically above the world market price) and on allocating subsidies for community development.

The fair trade crafts market is smaller than the market for commodities but is growing steadily. One reason for this inequity in market share is that there is no fair trade certification process for fairly traded handcrafts. Because the production process for crafts can vary significantly, uniform standards are not feasible or practical at this time. Fair trade products are generally characterized by producers who: receive fair wages, are committed to fostering open and democratic workplaces, respect the environment and operate in healthy workplaces.

How are we Fair Trade?
For us, fair trade is about empowering producers who form cooperatives and organizations to make a positive impact in their communities. We honor fair trade principles in our relationships with our artisan partners by:

• Paying producers a fair living wage
• Maintaining long-term, trusting and dialogue-based relationships
• Ensuring that communities receive upfront payments of at least 50 percent
• Providing technical assistance and business training to strengthen our partners’ operations and organizations
• Investing in the ability of our CBOs to manage microenterprises, provide services to their local communities and organize for human rights

Our global partners uphold core fair trade principles by:

• Paying fair, mutually agreed-upon wages
• Providing clean, safe and healthy workplaces
• Respecting the environment
• Ensuring that any child participation does not interrupt children’s education or need for play
• Promoting open and democratic work environments

The Story of Fair Trade Stuff

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