'Fair Trade For All' - Module 2 Fairtrade Certification

'Fair Trade For All' Education Kit - Australia

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Introduction to Module 2 - Fairtrade Certification

At the beginning of the 21st century, the global population is linked more closely than ever through global trade. Everyday, we buy and use products from most countries around the world. Unfortunately unfair trade rules have been widely recognized as one of the major contributors to global poverty. An oft-quoted line is that if the poorest nations in South America, Africa and Asia, were able to increase their share in global trade by just 1%, the income generated could lift 128 million people out of poverty.

Fair trade is an alternate system of trade established approximately thirty years ago, based on equality, respect, fairness and communication. It bypasses the standard trade system and deals directly with the grower of a certain product. Fair trade follows the trade path from producer to seller, making sure everyone is both getting paid, and paying fairly. It guarantees certain goals are met.

By exploring Fair trade with your students, you will be providing them with opportunities to think about how they relate to the rest of the world, what role they play in the world as citizens in a first world country, how trade operates, and ways that trade can be used to make a positive difference in people’s lives. It provides new ways to explore civics and citizenship, geography and issues of fairness that students may not have had the opportunity to examine before. It also provides them the opportunity to explore the value of traded items, and the people who have worked to produce them.