Fair Trade Organizations
What do Fair Trade Organizations do?
Fair Trade Organizations are groups that are committed to fair trade by either selling Fair Trade goods or importing Fair Trade goods from producers. They are also very involved in advocacy and education about Fair Trade issues. There are a number of different kinds of Fair Trade Organizations. Groups like Ten Thousand Villages that are really involved in different parts from helping with design assistance with producers, helping to develop products that will sell well, to importing those products into the US and into Canada and then ultimately selling those products in retail stores. Some Fair Trade Organizations may only be one part of that, they may be just a group that works at bringing in Fair Trade goods and then selling them to other kinds of retail stores that sell Fair Trade stuff. But in the end I think Fair Trade Organizations are the groups that are involved in making Fair Trade available and then raising levels of education and awareness about Fair Trade.
How can I get involved with the Fair Trade Movement?
Because Fair Trade is a consumer based movement, the way for consumers to get involved is to align their purchasing decisions with the values of Fair Trade, or just simply to buy Fair Trade goods. That is the best way to support Fair Trade. Beyond that, an important part of helping to get involved in the Fair Trade movement is raising awareness about Fair Trade, whether that be with your community group, or a church or just within your friends. Host a Fair Trade wine tasting party or have a Fair Trade chocolate sampling at your house - those are just simple ways that you can raise awareness about Fair Trade but in the end, the great part about Fair Trade is the way that you get involved by purchasing, and by changing your purchasing decisions to buying Fair Trade products. Becoming involved in the Fair Trade movement is really easy - simply begin to buy Fair Trade products.
What is the 'The Fair Trade Federation (FTF)?
The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) is a group, or organisation, that networks together - retailers, wholesale organisations and other kinds of fair trade organisations in the US and Canada. They are a great organisation for providing information about fair trade, their website is very helpful to go on to find out who is selling fair trade stuff, what other organisations are out there if you are looking for a specific kind of fair trade item. The Fair Trade Federation has a very extensive list of lots of organisations that are selling fair trade stuff and producing fair trade stuff.
What is the 'European Fair Trade Association EFTA'?
The European Fair Trade Association is a group that started in the nineties. There was a lot of networking of different fair trade groups. They are a group of particularly European fair trade organizations that network together and provide resources for consumers who are interested in buying fair trade goods.
What is the 'The International Fair Trade Association IFAT'?
The International Fair Trade Association is a group that networks together, both fair trade producer groups, the import/export side of organizations that are fair trade, and then the retailers, and provides a place for them to get resources to encourage networking and raise awareness about fair trade. Recently, the International Fair Trade Association also launched an actual certification of fair trade organizations. They have become one of those 3rd party groups that is a reliable certifier of fair trade organizations. They are a great resource, and they get behind things like Fair Trade Day, and international events that raise awareness about fair trade. They are also a group that certifies fair trade groups, and one of the symbols that you can look for to determine that a claim about fair trade is legitimate.
What is the 'The Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International (FLO)?
The Fair Trade Labelling Organization, or FLO, is probably the largest group that sets standards for Fair Trade, and also certifies Fair Trade products. They are the group that is behind the Fair Trade mark, for instance TransFair in the U.S is a non-profit organization that certifies products, but they're actually under the FLO, the international body. They are essentially the umbrella organization for Fair Trade certification. That involves both setting standards of, for instance, in coffee, what is the Fair Trade price for coffee, and then other initiatives of developing new Fair Trade products and things like that.
What is United Students for Fair Trade (USFT)?
United students for fair trade is an organization that grew out of Oxfam, or is still attached to OXFAM. It's a way for university students who are engaged, and thinking about fair trade, to act on their campus locally. It is a group that offers resources for helping to raise awareness and education on your university campus about fair trade issues. Ultimately moving towards having fair trade campuses, where the coffee that is available at your university or the clothes that are sold in your university bookstore whoever it is, that those things are being offered fair trade.
How can I start a Fair Trade movement in my community?
Starting a Fair Trade movement would just grow out of raising awareness and educating people about Fair Trade as you get excited about the issues and want to talk with other people, finding some like minded people and working together with them. Here in LA we have Fair Trade LA which is a group who put together Fair Trade festivals, invite speakers and work out advocacy issues. It is important to form a network of people that want to support Fair Trade in your community, and then to begin to branch out from there to begin to ask questions about where you might begin to make Fair Trade products available; whether its making them available in local businesses or having festivals or any similar thing. Starting a Fair Trade movement really begins with forming a network of people who are educated and interested in Fair Trade.
