How was Fairtrade labelling created?
Fair Trade as such has existed since the 1950s. It started as a partnership between non-profit importers, retailers in the North and small-scale producers in developing countries. Many of these producers were at the time struggling against low market prices and high dependence on intermediaries. They saw fair trade as an opportunity to protect their livelihoods, bypass the middlemen and directly access Northern markets. Over the years, more and more Alternative Trade Organisations (ATOs) were created in different countries, often closely linked to volunteer groups and World Shops. These networks of ATOs and World Shops played a vital role in the development of Fair Trade as we know it today. In 1988, in an effort to expand the distribution of fair trade products to mainstream retailers, a Dutch ATO, Solidaridad, found an innovative way to increase sales without compromising consumer trust in Fairtrade products and in their origins. The organization created a label, called Max Havelaar,
Fair trade as such has existed for over 40 years. It started as a partnership between non-profit importers and retailers in the North and small-scale producers in developing countries, who at the same as struggling against low market prices and high dependence on intermediaries, were looking for direct outlets into the European market. Over the years, more and more alternative trade organisations (ATO’s) were created in different countries, often closely related to world shops being established by groups of volunteers. These ATO’s set up networks of ‘world shops’, that were not only selling products of disadvantaged producers from developing countries, but also informing people about the current trade system, where small scale producers find it extremely difficult to survive. The same ATO’s are still very important in ‘informing the public’, but unfortunately they do not always reach the mass market of supermarket shoppers. This led to the birth, eleven years ago, of the concept of a F
Fair Trade started as early as the 1950s. It started as a partnership between non-profit importers, ususally non-governmental development charities as a way of alleviating poverty in poorer countries. Later it was recognized that small-scale producers in developing countries were struggling to make a decent living with low market prices and high dependence on local intermediaries. They saw fair trade as an opportunity to protect their livelihoods, bypass the middlemen and directly access Northern markets. Over the years, more and more Alternative Trade Organisations (ATOs) were created in different countries, often closely linked to development organizations and World Shops. These networks of ATOs and World Shops played a vital role in the development of Fair Trade as we know it today. In 1988, in an effort to expand the distribution of fair trade products to mainstream retailers, a Dutch ATO, Solidaridad, found an innovative way to increase sales without compromising consumer trust in
