What Is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is an alternative to what have become thought of as the normal, conventional rules for international trade. The International Federation for Alternative Trade describes fair trade as a trading partnership which involves discussion, transparent dealings and respect which is aimed at achieving greater equity in international trade. The idea is that the benefits of trading should be shared more equally between those who produce the goods and those who buy and sell them. Typically a fair trade partnership might involve agreeing a price per standard quantity of goods (e.g. coffee beans) before the goods are delivered and sticking to that price on delivery whether or not the open market prices has fallen in the time between order and delivery. This means producers can plan ahead, avoid getting into debt and have more money to support their family, business and community. There are other types of fair trade agreement, for example, making direct agreements which cut out middlemen, but all schemes are designed to ensure that producers can remain out of extreme poverty by not being forced to sell at unsustainably low prices