Fair Trade and Ethical Consumption in the Alliance for a Responsible and United World

Résumé :

Since the 1980’s, the Fair Trade system has been trying to set right unequal exchange between small producers of raw materials (like coffee, cocoa and bananas) in the South and the big corporations in the North who buy these products. Respecting certain principles (such as set minimum prices and advances on harvest) enables the buyers to be included in an international register and gives them the right to use a fair trade label which can be recognized by the consumers. Fair trade thus transforms a simple act of buying into an ethical act, thereby making the buyer responsible. Since its introduction, the fair trade system has spread to new products. [Newsletter of the Alliance for a Responsible and United World - #2, December 1998, p.12-14].

The document presents an analysis of the challenges of fair trade and of how it deals with some of the socio-economic issues of our time. While this analysis is not an exhaustive presentation of fair trade, its aim is to offer some food for thought. These pages are a first contribution to this new thematic group.