Overview

Definition

Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers - especially in the South. Fair Trade organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising, and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.

Strategy

The strategic intent of Fair Trade is to:

* deliberately work with marginalised producers and workers in order to help them move from a positiion of    vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency

* empower producers and workers as stakeholders in their own organisations actively to play a wider role in    the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade

Characteristics

The fundamental characteristic of Fair Trade is that of equal partnership and respect - partnership between the developing region producers and importers, shops, labelling organizations, and consumers. Fair Trade "humanizes" the trade process - making the producer-consumer chain as short as possible so that consumers become aware of the culture, identity, and conditions in which producers live. All actors are committed to the principle of alternative trade, the need for advocacy in their working relations and the importance of awareness-raising and advocacy work.

Thus, in a spirit of partnership, certain guiding principles, or criteria, are agreed by both sides.

* a fair price for farmers and workers - so that they can feed their families and that their children can go to    school instead of working in the fields

* quality - by receiving a fair price, producers can avoid cost-cutting practices that sacrifice quality

* care for the environment - products are organic and shade grown, helping to maintain biodiversity, provide    shelter for birds / animals and help reduce global warming

As a minimum, developing region producers also commit themselves to democratic functioning and decision-making procedures within their organisations.

Footnotes:

(1) "Definition" extracted from Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign website, accessed on 13 March 2006. This definition has been agreed by an informal network of four Fair Trade Organisations, known by their initials as FINE.

(2) "Strategy" and "characteristics" is paraphased from the EFTA Yearbook: Challenges of Fair Trade 2001 - 2003, p.25, which is a publication of the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA).