Upscaling Fair Trade

Local actions and policies have a global impact. Municipalities, schools, universities, and other local public authorities can act as pioneers and frontrunners in the development and implementation of innovative ways of promoting sustainable development. By cooperating with Fair Trade Towns, Schools, and Universities, FTAO aims to support the replication and upscale of local Fair Trade initiatives leading to a more sustainable, fair, and inclusive growth.

Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, FTAO has carried out research on local actions in support of Fair Trade. Through the engagement of municipalities, schools, and universities, FTAO gathered several innovative approaches that tie together local actors and the Fair Trade movement, in particular in these areas: public procurement, development cooperation, trade, and Fair Trade-specific initiatives. Through this work, FTAO developed recommendations on how to help local actors adopt resolutions on fair procurement, support local Fair Trade projects, perform information/education work on Fair Trade, as well as to support or implement any other local Fair Trade initiatives.

We aim to unlock the great potential of Fair Trade Towns, Schools, and Universities by connecting them with like-minded policymakers and stakeholders at local, national, EU, and international level. In this context, FTAO is looking forward to further extending its network of contacts and cooperations with municipalities, schools, and universities committed to Fair Trade, with the aim to:

1. facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning;
2. foster social innovation;
3. promote enabling policy environments for Fair Trade at local level.

You can find more information about these strategies on the page about our work on public procurement and on the Fair Trade Towns website.

FURTHER READING

From local to EU level: Scaling Up Fair Trade in Europe, FTAO (2019)

Report on fair and ethical trade practices in EU cities, ITC (2019)

Localising the SDGs, FTAO (2016)

The open book of social innovation, Young Foundation (2010)

You can find out how this work links to our work on EU policies here.