What is the difference between 'free trade' and 'Fair Trade'?

What is the difference between 'free trade' and 'Fair Trade'?

Sam Bills (Manager) gives expert video advice on: What are the main goals of the Fair Trade movement?; What is the difference between 'free trade' and 'Fair Trade'?; How can Fair Trade affect the global 'coffee' market? and more...

Fair Trade and free trade are often confused because they sound so similar, but they do have different end results. One of the results of free trade is that multinational corporations are able to move their production to countries with more relaxed labor standards, and often that kind of trade leads to exploitation. Fair Trade is not opposed to the ideal of free trade, which is that markets should be open; in fact Fair Trade relies on that openness. It works to make sure that the producers in those countries are being taken care of. Therefore free trade is in theory a good idea, but often the reality of free trade is that it does not necessarily lead to open trade, but to exploitative labor conditions, whereas Fair Trade takes more seriously those working conditions and wants to work to make sure that the people that we do trade with are treated fairly.