What is fair trade?

Fair trade seeks to transform the lives of poor producers in the developing world by enabling them to use their skills and resources to trade their way out of poverty.

It seeks to challenge injustices in trading structures and practices that so often lead to the exploitation and marginalisation of poor people.

Over ten years ago Traidcraft helped establish the Fairtrade Mark, which guarantees:

• A fair price which covers the cost of sustainable production
• An extra premium to invest in community projects
• Defined standards for the health, and social and economic welfare, of producers
• Defined standards for the protection of the environment

But we didn’t stop there.

With the help of our thousands of supporters and customers Traidcraft goes the extra mile by:

• Choosing to work with poor and small-scale producer groups
• Working in partnership with our producers, committing to long-term relationships and engaging in regular contact
• Investing in the development of producers to help them build professional, sustainable businesses
• Offering the widest range of fair trade products in the UK
• Pioneering innovations in fair trade
• Lobbying governments to advance the cause of trade justice
• Tackling issues faced by people who are disadvantaged by unfair trade agreements
• Demonstrating ethical business practices and challenge others to do the same

Read about how fair trade changes lives by looking at our product pages, or by visiting Traidcraft’s website.

The Fairtrade Mark

Many of Traidcraft’s food and cotton products have the Fairtrade logo on their packaging. The Fairtrade Mark is a registered certification label for products sourced from producers in developing countries. The logo is licensed by the Fairtrade Foundation, of which Traidcraft is a founder member.

The Fairtrade Mark is only available on certain products which have internationally-agreed Fairtrade standards. Most products carrying the Fairtrade Mark are food or cotton.

Traidcraft has its own purchasing policy to ensure that we operate under rigorous fair trade criteria, even if the Mark is not yet available or where we are supporting producers to move towards certification.