25th September 2018
Fair Trade Charter Launch
The Fair Trade Charter is being launched today and is a collaboration of all those in the fair trade movement. It works to transform trade in order to achieve justice, equity and sustainability for the people and planet and that has never been more applicable and necessary as now.
The fair trade movement shares a vision of a world in which justice, equity and sustainable development are at the heart of trade structures and practices so that everyone, through their work, can maintain a decent and dignified livelihood and develop their full human potential. The fair trade charter seeks to bring all the actors in this movement under one guiding mission and aims to support the work of fair trade organisations and facilitate collaboration through a shared philosophy.
Image: Hathay Bunano artisan making Pebble toys in rural Bangladesh
Markets are typically dominated by a handful of international firms who have the power to set the terms of trade for their suppliers, forcing prices down, often to levels below the full costs of production. This leaves small producers and workers struggling to earn a living wage and vulnerable to exploitation. We see this on a daily basis in the garments industry in Bangladesh, where large international brands dictate the market and the pricing and the wages of the garments workers are continually squeezed. Only this week there have been protests in Bangladesh for an increase in the minimum wage but we only really hear about this on the global stage every year at the Fashion Revolution events or when there is some terrible disaster like the Rana Plaza collapse.
Image: Fair Trade Charter graphic
We hear all the time about how the richest 1% own as much wealth as the rest of the world but we so often think that we are powerless to change this. This is not true. We all have power. If we all use our power collectively then we can make real change for the better. The Fair Trade Charter is a way to bring us all together so that we all use the power we have to cumulatively effect change to a more fair and sustainable world.
You can read the full Fair Trade Charter here
You can visit the Fair Trade Charter website here and show your support for Fair Trade.
Pebble and the artisans of Hathay Bunano are one of the many, many organisations who have already signed up to support the charter.
Image: Supporters of the Fair Trade Charter
Support Fair Trade today.
