Fair Trade : Research

Even assuming Fairtrade goods are all they claim to be, their merit would still deserve to be weighed against the rival schemes or against the possibility that the money might be better spent in other ways

Worldwide, 25 million people earn their livelihoods from coffee farming, supplying an estimated 500 billion cups of coffee to consumers each year. However, wealth generated from the coffee trade is not equitably distributed.

Exploring options to facilitate market access for developing-country exporters of fruit and vegetables: experiences of Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica

This article examines how trade and voluntary CSR have been linked by policymakers around the world, and discusses whether linking voluntary CSR initiatives (CSR) and the WTO would promote greater corporate social responsibility and trade.

Having external assessors take stock in an objective fashion at a given point in time is a valuable undertaking, especially for Fairtrade, which enjoyed considerable growth in Europe in the last fifteen years. It is also important, however, to assess impacts as part of an internal ongoing process. This is so that the organisation itself can learn, on a continuous basis, about its own progress towards its stated objectives.

One of the most important benefits of the Fairtrade model has nothing to do with the price floor and is thus perfectly compatible with a free market system: the requirement to work directly with producers, whether they are farming co-operatives, plantations, or small-scale craft manufacturers. Fairtrade importers must, wherever possible, buy directly from a farming co-operative, a farming estate, or local producer group. 

Fair Trade has emerged as a potentially important movement for social change in Europe, North America, and regions of the developing world. Fair Trade challenges historically unequal international market relations, seeking to transform North-South trade into an avenue for producer empowerment and poverty alleviation. Markets for Fair Trade coffee and other items link ethically minded Northern consumers with democratically organized groups of poor Southern producers.