What is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is an organized social movement which promotes standards for international labour, environmentalism, and social policy in areas related to production of Fair trade labeled and unlabelled goods. The movement focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries.

Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalised producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.

Fair trade proponents include a wide array of international religious, development aid, social and environmental organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Caritas International.
As most developmental efforts, fair trade has proved itself controversial and has drawn criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Some economists and conservative think tanks see fair trade as a type of subsidy that impedes growth. Segments of the left criticize fair trade for not challenging enough the current trading system.

In 2005, fair trade certified sales were estimated at €1.1 billion worldwide, a 37 % year-to-year increase.[1] While this represents less than one hundredth of a percentage point of world trade in physical merchandise,[2] fair trade products generally account for 0.5-5% of all sales in their product categories in Europe and North America.[3] In October 2006, over 1.5 million disadvantaged producers worldwide were directly benefiting from fair trade while an additional 5 million benefited from fair trade funded infrastructure and community development projects.[1]

Impacts:

Click here for more specific information regarding areas affected by globalization and how buying Fair Trade helps the environment, laborers, and consumers.

References:

Definition and References from Wikipedia.

1.) a b Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (2006). Fairtrade FAQs URL accessed on December 14, 2006.
2.) p. 3, The World Trade Organisation publishes annual figures on the world trade of goods and services.
3.) FINE. (2005) Fair Trade in Europe 2005: Facts and Figures on Fair Trade in 25 European countries. Brussels: Fair Trade Advocacy Office
4.) European Fair Trade Association. (2006). Definition of Fair Trade URL accessed on August 2, 2006.
5.) International Fair Trade Association (2006). Key Principles of Fair Trade URL accessed on August 2 2006.