Replies to recently raised questions about Fair Trade

A recent study by the School for African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) ‘Fairtrade, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia and Uganda’ has raised some questions about Fair Trade. Find here clarifications and responses by the Fair Trade movement:

Fairtrade International has produced a Q&A with the most common questions that were raised and the answers to them. Harriet Lamb, CEO of Fairtrade International, has written a blog entry that reflects on the scope, challenges and successes that the Fair Trade model has encountered. Fairtrade International also directs to the growing body of research that shows that Fair Trade has a positive impact for small-scale farmers and workers and in raising the voices of the more marginalized to make trade fair.

Alternative Trade Organisation Traidcraft stated: “With 35 years of experience of working with smallholder farmers and fighting for trade justice, we believe it is wrong to draw from this study the conclusion that Fairtrade does not improve the lives of the poor. At Traidcraft, we don’t just believe that fair trade works for the very poor, we know it does. We’ve seen it happen over decades, with whole communities transformed.” Click here to read the full press release.

The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) regrets that the media attention given to this two-country study may be taken for ‘the whole picture,’ when in fact Fair Trade has delivered significant benefits to millions of low income farmers and artisans across the globe. Read the full statement here.