Fair Trade Fortnight - What is Fair Trade?

Fair Trade helps workers and farmers to have better prices, fair working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade, by requiring people to pay fair prices. Fair Trade takes on the severe unfairness of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the most vulnerable. When you're shopping, you can make simple choices such as looking for the Fair Trade sticker on packaging which gives farmers better deals and it means they can make their own decisions, control their future and lead a respected life which everyone should have. I think it is so important to treat everyone fairly, it makes me very sad to think that farmers are not always receiving what they are entitled to. 

There are 74 countries with producers certified as Fair Trade, these include - the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Ghana, Ethiopia, India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and many more. If you add it up, the 74 countries are made up of 1.4 million individual farmers/workers who are spread between 1,140 producer organisations. Mexico was the first country to get involved in the Fair Trade system by supplying coffee from 1998 for the Dutch brand- Max Havelaar.

Buying Fair Trade is a simple and effective way to help make our world a better place, there are more than 6,000 Fair Trade products from things like coffee and tea to flowers and even gold! Some examples of easy swaps you could make for every day products are- Fair Trade bananas, chocolate, coffee, clothes, flowers, gold, cold drinks and juices, tea, sweet snacks and grains, sugars, spreads and oil, wine, beauty products and herbs and spices.

 

• Opportunities for disadvantaged producers.
• Transparency and accountability.
• Fair Trade principles.
• No child labour, no forced labour.
• Fair pay.
• No gender discrimination.
• Good working conditions.
• Capacity buildings.
• Promote Fair Trade.
• Respect for the environment.

Choosing Fair Trade is about social justice. It's choosing to act now. Choosing Fair Trade is showing your values to others. Buying from brands like Naitika is choosing to make ethical normal. Choose the world you want. 

By Heidi