In an attempt to demystify Fairtrade, ‘fair trade’ and various other topics, we have created a series of questions on common themes. We hope to answer any questions you have – if you have any more, please get in contact (through the site by commenting on articles or using the contact form, our Facebook or our Twitter account) and we will endeavour to answer to the best of our abilities!
Can ‘fair’ and ‘trade’ coexist?
There have been a number of questions about the relationship between ‘fair’ and ‘trade’, and whether it is even possible to have fair trade.
It has also been argued that we need to continue Fairtrade, but challenge more issues to make trade fairer – such as questioning the high numbers of food subsidies in the Global North, which reduce the prices at which UK and European farmers can sell their food. The complicated and unfair structures in organisations such as the World Trade Organisation have made it difficult for Global South producers to negotiate access to the market on an equal footing.
