The products that you put in your weekly shopping basket can affect the lives of people living thousands of miles away.
Okay, that's the "tugging at your heartstrings" part of the equation. There is, also, the personal benefit gained from purchasing fair trade goods. Fair Trade foods are grown sustainably, ensuring a better future for all of us. Because sustainably-grown crops do not deplete the soil, they provide superior nutrition. Fair Trade helps create a more peaceful world—one you can be proud to pass on to your children and grandchildren. Fair trade goods are often made much closer to home than you might ever have imagined. Businesses in Scotland and throughout Europe design and arrange for manufacture adhering to Fair Trade standards, thus producing sustainable and lasting businesses and employment for our economy. Fair Trade goods aren't just run-of-the-mill or boring.
What more could you possibly want from products you purchase? They're good quality, they help make life better for people all over the world, and buying Fair Trade simply makes you feel good!
Fair Trade or Fairtrade?
One word or two words? What's the difference?
It may sound a tad silly, but there really is a distinction between Fairtrade-One-Word and Fair Trade-Two-Words. One way to look at it is to think of Fairtrade-One-Word as a special case of Fair Trade-Two Words. Click here to learn the distinction.
Fair Trade Organisations
A group of organisations constitutes the world-wide structure of Fair Trade. They consist of:
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FINE
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FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International)
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IFAT (International Fair Trade Association)
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NEWS! (Network of European World Shops
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EFTA (European Fair Trade Association)
FINE
FINE is an informal network of the four major Fair Trade groups. The name is an acronym derived from their names:
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FINE operates an Advocacy Office in Belgium. It defines their functions as:
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Monitoring European and International trade and development policies.
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Ensuring a constant dialogue between the Fair Trade movement and political decision makers.
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Developing political positions in the areas of Fair Trade and trade justice.
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Publishing informative material, such as newsletters and brochures.
For further information, go to the FINE website.
Click on an image to learn about each of the member organisations that form FINE:
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