Fair trade?

Fair Trade is a lot of things: a social justice movement, an alternative business model, a syste m of global commerce, a tool for international development, a faith-based activity. It means different things to different people. There is no single, regulatory, authoritative body. So, individuals need to explore various models and concepts. Fair Trade's many definitions do always center around the exchange of goods based on principles of economic and social justice. ―Every business transaction is a challenge to see that both parties come out fairly.‖ In 1998, four European organizations created a widely accepted definition of Fair Trade. Fairtrade Labeling Organizations (now Fairtrade International , FI), International Fair Trade Association (now World Fair Trade Organization, WFTO), the Network of European Worldshops (NEWS!) and the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA) created a workgroup known as FINE, an acronym of their names, and defined Fair Trade as: ―a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency, and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, disadvantaged producers and workers—especially in the South. With many different definitions, and no single, authoritative body, Fair Trade takes many forms in the U.S. and around the world. Different organizations and individuals use different criteria for determining what is, and isn't, Fair Trade. The two most widely recognized ways of identifying Fair Trade are organizational recognition and product certification. With organizational recognition, a trading organization is approved as Fair Trade. For these