Fairtrade: A Comprehensive Analysis of Global Trade and Development

This essay delves into the significance of Fairtrade as a global platform that empowers manufacturing companies and rural communities in developing nations to participate in international trade on more equitable terms. It explores Fairtrade's historical context, starting from its inception in the 1950s as a movement to alleviate poverty and combat unfair trade practices. The essay highlights Fairtrade's role in promoting transparency, equality, and sustainable development within the world trade market. It discusses how Fairtrade supports producers, improves working conditions, and fosters a culture of ethical business practices. The essay also mentions various organizations and companies involved in the Fairtrade movement, such as the World Fair Trade Organization, Fairtrade International, and companies like Ben & Jerry's and Rishi tea, and examines the impact of fair trade labeling and certification. The essay concludes by emphasizing Fairtrade's crucial role in eradicating poverty, promoting fair opportunities for growth, and fostering long-term relationships between producers and buyers across the globe.

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Fair trade
Essay
Student
7/31/2019

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Fairtrade is a global platform designed for the manufacturing companies and rural
community of emergent nations so that they can export their products at competitive prices and
avail better trading opportunities. It has been playing this major role from the past 70 years and
today, it has not only created many opportunities for growth for the existing countries but has
empowered social and environmental development on the global level (FairTrade Foundation ,
What is FairTrade?, 2019). It focuses on those commodities, which is not only possessing a great
market share on the domestic level (India) but can be exported efficiently to economically
independent countries (USA). Traditional crafts, spices, and wine are some of the notable
exports that have occurred in the last few decades. Fairtrade empowers great trading relations in
the world trade market by maintaining transparency in the system, thus promoting equality on
the universal scale (FairTrade Foundation, What FairTrade Does , 2019). Therefore, in the essay,
the emphasis will be on the contribution of fair trade in the development of the world and its
promotion of the companies to operate on the global market.
The era of this contemporary fair trade movement was started in 1950, in an association
with the Alternative Trade Organization (World Fair Trade Organization, 2019). It began with
an objective of alleviating poverty in developing nations by eliminating intermediaries from
commerce industry so that small producer can trade their at fairer prices It is an association that
has committed to promoting the interest of the traders on the global level thus developing the
underdeveloped countries.
This movement has been developed to eradicate poverty from the system, to raise
awareness against the unfair trade practices that are corrupting the industry and to promote
equitable trading culture in the society. It ensures fair competition among the producers, and
support rural communities of developing countries. Moreover, it operates to protect the interest

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of the farmers by empowering them to avail better opportunities and raise their standard of
living. With the emergence of fair Trade in the market, there has been an improvement in
working conditions and has resulted in the overall development of the economy. It is a global
movement, which has played a crucial role in shaping the future of trade industry. Moreover,
there is a need of a system in which, manufactures ethically conduct their activities and express
unity with clients, and has been an increment in an unethical practice like unequal distribution of
wealth and resources in the world trade market (World Fairtrade Organization , 2019).
Fairtrade has been developed to highlight the effort of every producer in his or her
services so that it can easily reach to the masses. It promotes unbiased trade in the world
economy.
Coffee beans, tea, sugar, and cotton are some of the well-established consumer goods
industries that have been operating in the market as Fairtrade Industry. Besides this, in the
personal care manufacturing units, Shea body cream, coconut oil, and range of beauty oil are
some of the popular skin and hair care highly procured from the fair trade producers. In all these
well-recognized established industries, Dr. Brunner's is a leading fair dealer of organic products
since 2006, who are involved in trading premium-unprocessed material from this platform across
the nations (World Fairtrade Organization , 2019).
Therefore, it can be said that over 70 years, Fairtrade has evolved and expanded across
the nations. With the great assistance of various organizations on a global scale, the concept of
fair trade has gained recognition and currently, it is widely adopted as policy in various
developing nations (World Fairtrade Organization , 2019).

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Fairtrade promotes the development of sustainable culture in the organizations by
demanding the practice of the equal distribution of wealth and power across the nations. It
promotes the culture where farmers and producers can interact with potential buyers and can
market their products at fairer prices (North, 2017). The mission of this association is to connect
employers and farmers so they can meet their needs and achieve their respective objectives,
ensuring the equitable trading environment, and strengthening the base of the farmers by
encountering poverty on a worldwide scale.
From the last few decades, the movement has shown significant expansion as it has been
widely adopted by many developing countries that are focusing to emerge as a powerful
sustainable country. Besides this, many countries are investing in this movement as it ensures a
safe working environment for the laborers’ and condemns the exploitation of children and
workers in the industry. Companies that are supporting the association involve the first ice
cream company, Ben and Jerry who is famous for it is premium ice cream and Rishi tea from
China, which is well known across the world for its organic tea (North, 2017). The company has
associated with the movement so that they contribute to the education system and can provide
ample of opportunities like a scholarship to the students, and provide assistance in empowering
other nations like building infrastructure in the remote areas. It is a life-changing movement for
rural families as it has brought changes in the system, which has reduced the fluctuations in the
economy, providing an abundance of opportunities to the rural communities to overcome poverty
and has raised the standard of living (FairTrade Foundation, What FairTrade Does , 2019).
Fairtrade International, FLO and IMO are some of the certified organizations that are
expanding fair trade movement across all the rural communities like marginal farmers and
smallholding farmers so that supply their crops at fairer rate. Moreover, Fair trades the USA has

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also taken initiative to promote the interest of the farmers by implementing separate fair trade
labeling system. In all these organizations, Fairtrade Labelling Organization International is
responsible for inspecting the farms and look after the production activities in several nations
(Noursihed Life , 2019). They monitor activities of marginal farmers and other manufactures and
examine whether they are working adhering to the ethical code of conduct or not (Samuel,
Peattie, & Doherty, 2018). In addition to this, Fairtrade movement has gained great popularity in
the UK and currently, there are 500 Fairtrade communities, 118 higher educational institutions,
more than 6000 parishes, and over 4000 academic institutes are operating under Fairtrade School
Scheme (Griffiths, 2012).
Fairtrade movement has evolved into a global initiative when Dutch ATO Solidaridad
initiated a labeling scheme to introduce the products into universal markets without
compromising with the buyer's trust while fulfilling corporate social responsibility. In the
Fairtrade movement, dealers are the farmers, exporters or the processor that conduct business
dealing by replacing the intermediaries from the procedure. Traders commence the activities
according the standards set by the organizations (Brussels Rural Development Briefings, 2008).
Currently, there has been an increment in the quantity of the products and commodities that are
sourced as fair trade products. Products from wine to the soccer ball and other equipment are
some of the demanded products that are currently available in the market. In 2011, over 1.2
million agriculturists and workers from more than 60 counties registered themselves in the
International Fair Trade system in which the blue-chip companies for the economic development
had invested 65 million euros (Podhorsky, 2015,).

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It can be inferred that the Fairtrade movement is an initiative taken on the global scale to
eradicate poverty by across the nations by focusing on the small-scale producers and thus
eliminating the scope of intermediaries from the industry. It promotes fair opportunities of
growth to the rural community and produces of developing nations. Moreover, it connects
farmers and manufactures with the buyers thus maintaining long term relations. Many
organizations are operating on a global scale and expanding this campaign across several
countries.

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Bibliography
Brussels Rural Development Briefings. (2008). Does Fair Trade contribute to sustainable
development? Retrieved 2019, from Brussels Rural Development Briefings:
https://brusselsbriefings.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/br-5-reader-br-5-fair-trade-eng.pdf
FairTrade Foundation . (2019). What is FairTrade? Retrieved 2019, from FairTrade Foundation:
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/What-is-Fairtrade
FairTrade Foundation. (2019). What FairTrade Does . Retrieved 2019, from FairTrade
Foundation: https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/What-is-Fairtrade/What-Fairtrade-does
Griffiths, P. (2012). Ethical Objections to Fairtrade. Journal of Business Ethics, 357-373.
North, A. (2017). Fairtrade for the people. Grocer, 53.
Noursihed Life . (2019). What is Fairtrade and Why is it Important? Retrieved 2019, from
Noursihed Life: https://www.nourishedlife.com.au/article/547789/what-fairtrade-why-it-
important.html
Podhorsky, A. (2015,). A positive analysis of Fairtrade certification. The Journal of Development
Economics, 167.
Samuel, A., Peattie, K., & Doherty, B. (2018). expanding the boundaries of brand communities:
the case of Fairtrade Towns. European Journal of Marketing, 758-782.
World Fair Trade Organization. (2019). Historyof Fairtrade. Retrieved 2019, from World Fair
Trade Organization: https://wfto.com/about-us/history-wfto/history-fair-trade

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World Fairtrade Organization . (2019). Vision and Mission. Retrieved 2019, from World
Fairtrade Organization: https://wfto.com/about-us/vision-and-mission