The Urban Hillbilly Salon now carries Fair Trade handbags, totes, and jewelery. What is Fair Trade? Read on...
General Information
What is Fair Trade?
A market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. It aims to educate and empower disadvantaged producers and connect them to a market, so they too can participate in global trade.
The World Fair Trade Organization gives this formal definition as of November 7, 2009:
_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 have a clear commitment to Fair Trade as the principal core of their mission. They, 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. They can be recognised by the WFTO logo.
Fair Trade is more than just trading: it proves that greater justice in world trade is possible. It highlights the need for change in the rules and practice of conventional trade and shows how a successful business can also put people first._
(http://www.wfto.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=13)
Mission and Principles
Fair trade is about much more than just setting a price of goods or creating a safe working environment. It aims to improve the community and livelihood of the producer. These improvements include things like:
Advanced payments or access to credit – Wholesalers or retailers who work directly with artisans will pay them in advance for the products. This ensures that the artisans or farmers have money to buy the resources they need to make products or grow crops, and at the same time feed their children, invest in their communities, etc. Small farmers and artisans can also be referred to micro-credit companies who will help them get started.
Education -Many retailers and wholesalers educate the producers they work with. They give them market information so that artisans can create functional, trendy goods that will sell. Farmers and artisans also receive education to improve their business and efficiency.
Development Projects -Community development and sustainability is a main goal of Fair Trade. Handmade Expressions, for example, is trying to provide health insurance to the artisans, install solar panels for electricity in 2 villages, and giving scholarships for vocational education, among other projects. These projects give the artisans or farmers a basic level of development that allows them to lead better lives and increase productivity.
Opportunities for Women and Minorities -Fair Trade aims to empower everyone without discrimination. by creating an environment where women and minorities can participate. They then become self-sustainable decision makers in their communities. This is especially important in the crafts industry, where 70% of producers are women (according to the Fair Trade Federation).
History
The concept of Fair Trade can be traced back to the beginning of the last century when religious groups and politically-oriented NGOs decided to help poor communities around the world by incorporating them into the global trading system. This concept took a formal shape in Europe in the 1960s as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). They adopted and popularized the slogan, “Trade not Aid”.
In the beginning, fair trade was almost exclusively about handcrafts such as jute bags. During the 1980s, however, these products lost their innovation and appeal, and fair trade organizations decided to move towards agricultural products. Many countries depended on the export of three or less key agricultural products that were also facing plummeting prices. By 2002, food products comprised almost 70% of the fair trade market. (Nicholls, A. & Opal,C.(2004).Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption. London: Sage Publications.)
Another challenge that Fair Trade faced during the 1980s was a weakening demand for “World Shops” – retailers that specifically sold Fair Trade products. Non-profit organizations and NGOs turned to mainstream shops and retailers in the hopes of selling fairly traded goods while still maintaining the humanitarian appeal. This solution proved successful, and in 1997, fifteen European countries, the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand decided to converge their Fair Trade efforts under one umbrella organization called Fairtrade Labeling Organizations Internations, or FLO.
In 1989 the IFAT (International Fair Trade Association, now known as the World Fair Trade Organization) was created to unite producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers involved in fair trade in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. This provided a networking organization for the exchange of ideas and for the promotion of fair trade commerce. Today, all members ofIFAT/WFTO can display a new mark to be identified with fair trade worldwide.
What is Fair Trade?
A market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. It aims to educate and empower disadvantaged producers and connect them to a market, so they too can participate in global trade.
The World Fair Trade Organization gives this formal definition as of November 7, 2009:
_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 have a clear commitment to Fair Trade as the principal core of their mission. They, 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. They can be recognised by the WFTO logo.
Fair Trade is more than just trading: it proves that greater justice in world trade is possible. It highlights the need for change in the rules and practice of conventional trade and shows how a successful business can also put people first._
(http://www.wfto.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=13)
Mission and Principles
Fair trade is about much more than just setting a price of goods or creating a safe working environment. It aims to improve the community and livelihood of the producer. These improvements include things like:
Advanced payments or access to credit – Wholesalers or retailers who work directly with artisans will pay them in advance for the products. This ensures that the artisans or farmers have money to buy the resources they need to make products or grow crops, and at the same time feed their children, invest in their communities, etc. Small farmers and artisans can also be referred to micro-credit companies who will help them get started.
Education -Many retailers and wholesalers educate the producers they work with. They give them market information so that artisans can create functional, trendy goods that will sell. Farmers and artisans also receive education to improve their business and efficiency.
Development Projects -Community development and sustainability is a main goal of Fair Trade. Handmade Expressions, for example, is trying to provide health insurance to the artisans, install solar panels for electricity in 2 villages, and giving scholarships for vocational education, among other projects. These projects give the artisans or farmers a basic level of development that allows them to lead better lives and increase productivity.
Opportunities for Women and Minorities -Fair Trade aims to empower everyone without discrimination. by creating an environment where women and minorities can participate. They then become self-sustainable decision makers in their communities. This is especially important in the crafts industry, where 70% of producers are women (according to the Fair Trade Federation).
History
The concept of Fair Trade can be traced back to the beginning of the last century when religious groups and politically-oriented NGOs decided to help poor communities around the world by incorporating them into the global trading system. This concept took a formal shape in Europe in the 1960s as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). They adopted and popularized the slogan, “Trade not Aid”.
In the beginning, fair trade was almost exclusively about handcrafts such as jute bags. During the 1980s, however, these products lost their innovation and appeal, and fair trade organizations decided to move towards agricultural products. Many countries depended on the export of three or less key agricultural products that were also facing plummeting prices. By 2002, food products comprised almost 70% of the fair trade market. (Nicholls, A. & Opal,C.(2004).Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption. London: Sage Publications.)
Another challenge that Fair Trade faced during the 1980s was a weakening demand for “World Shops” – retailers that specifically sold Fair Trade products. Non-profit organizations and NGOs turned to mainstream shops and retailers in the hopes of selling fairly traded goods while still maintaining the humanitarian appeal. This solution proved successful, and in 1997, fifteen European countries, the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand decided to converge their Fair Trade efforts under one umbrella organization called Fairtrade Labeling Organizations Internations, or FLO.
In 1989 the IFAT (International Fair Trade Association, now known as the World Fair Trade Organization) was created to unite producers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers involved in fair trade in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. This provided a networking organization for the exchange of ideas and for the promotion of fair trade commerce. Today, all members ofIFAT/WFTO can display a new mark to be identified with fair trade worldwide.