About Fair Trade
The fair trade partnership involves producers, traders, retailers and consumers. The movement started in the USA and Europe following the Second World War s as a way to address the inequities of the global trading system and to express solidarity with exploited producers in the developing world. Although initially fair trade supplied a niche market, it has developed into a professional and more mainstream sector over the past five years. Some markets have reported an increase of sales of fair trade products of over 70%. Increasingly, consumers are demanding healthy and ethically sound produced products. The huge growth in the fair trade market presents a great opportunity for marginalised producers to get involved in fair trade.