Youth and Fair Trade
Young people are both the present and the future of the Fair Trade Movement. As the generation that will bear the greatest consequences of climate change, social inequality and exploitative trade practices, they are also among the most committed and creative forces driving the push for systemic change. Across the Fair Trade Movement, young advocates are showing a remarkable capacity to connect environmental and social justice, to build solidarity across borders and to hold decision-makers accountable in ways that older advocacy traditions have struggled to achieve.
Our View
The Fair Trade Advocacy Office believes that young people are indispensable to a just and sustainable future, not as passive beneficiaries of change, but as active architects of it. Since 2021, the FTAO has supported the Young Fair Trade Advocates (YFTAs), a diverse group of young people from across Europe united by the conviction that trade must serve people and the planet. Through direct engagement with EU policymakers, structured dialogues with producers and workers, visits to farming communities and the production of policy papers, the YFTAs have brought intergenerational urgency to the FTAO's advocacy work.
