"When we arise in the morning at the table we drink coffee which is provided for us by a South American or tea by a Chinese, or cocoa by a West African; before we leave for our day, we are already indebted to more than half the world"
- Martin Luther King
Fair Trade is a growing, international movement which ensures that producers in poor countries get a fair deal. This means a fair price for their goods (one that covers the cost of production and guarantees a living income), long-term contracts which provide real security; and for many, support to gain the knowledge and skills that they need to develop their businesses and increase sales.
Fair Trade and the Make Trade Fair campaign
The Fair Trade movement has been one of the most powerful responses to the problems facing commodity producers. It gives consumers an opportunity to use their purchasing power to tilt the balance, however slightly, in favour of the poor. But Fair Trade alone can't address the crisis faced by the millions of small-scale farmers and producers whose livelihoods are threatened by low commodity prices and unfair competion from rich countries.
This can only be achieved by changing the unfair rules of world trade so that they work for small-scale producers as well as rich multinationals.
To read more about Make Trade Fair click here
