“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” – Confucius
What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is a way of sourcing products from local people to enable them to use their skills to earn a liveable wage without fear of exploitation. It encourages fair treatment and sustainability for farmers and workers within the developing world. It’s a way of creating opportunities for local people who struggle to compete with the multi organisations and industry giants.
Fair Trade is a responsible approach to travel and tourism. From cotton and coffee farmers to tribal women crafting unique statues or pieces of jewellery, money that is made is often used for bicycles and new wells to provide water to the village ensuring that the whole community benefits from the partnerships.
How can I buy Fair Trade?
For a conscious traveller, buying fair trade means buying products in line with their values and helping to improve the quality of traditional life all over the world by supporting local agriculture and promoting self-sustainability rather than importing products from another region or country.
Many food products now use the Fairtrade logo and larger companies are understanding the need to work with local producers. Products can range from organic cotton to coffee and food. Over 1,000 farmers in Africa, Asia and South America benefit from Starbucks Fairtrade coffee and others are following in their carbon footsteps. Look for the Fair Trade logo on products.
Read here for more information.
Responsibilities of Fair Trade
Fair trade sets out to:
- Help locals to get a fairer price for their produce and work.
- Reduce exploitation of child labour.
- Ensure that working conditions are safe.
- Create new opportunities for poor villages.
- Protect local producers with checks on trading practices.
Did you know? That nearly half the world’s population live on less than £2 a day.
