UNCTAD
International Fair Trade
Fair trade is an alternative approach to the traditional free market and free trade format of the international economy. It reaches out to small-level producers, particularly in developing countries. Fair trade is a attempt to level the economic playing field for those without the same opportunities, without regard to circumstances or gender. The producers who take part generally operate on a much smaller scale than the dominating international corporations. By participating in fair trade, marginalized producers are given an opportunity to reach economic self-sufficiency and to invest in their own economic stability. The best known fair trade products tend to be specialty products such as handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, or tea.
The prices set by fair trader are higher than the commercial rate because the products are held to high social and environmental standards. The pricing system benefits the producers involved because it takes into consideration the costs which go into production: it requires that those involved give living wages to their employees, and also requires agricultural projects be grown and developed in a sustainable manner.
Fair trade seeks to more directly link otherwise marginalized producers with consumers and, in doing so, it passes on valuable economic and developmental knowledge. Working with fair trade organizations allows producers to learn about the workings of a market economy while also ensuring them greater equity and access to the world market. The opportunities afforded them gives them a chance to acquire skills and resources.
Fair trade is not one united force, but many splintered organizations. In recent years, this has lead to the rise of several different certifying agencies for various different products and aspects of fair trade. Fair trade has been gaining popularity and prevalence, making such quality assurance necessary. However, the pattern of buying fair trade products remains fairly confined to the continents of Europe and North America. The United Nations must take into consideration the benefits and the disadvantages of a free trade market in order for the survival or discontinuation of the system whether it remained confined to certain areas or eventually be extended worldwide.