Why Fair Trade?

 -Increasing globalization, free-trade and international investment agreements remove barriers to local markets for transnational corporations.

-Free trade agreements (ex: NAFTA, FTAA) offer large companies protection for intellectual/property rights but do not include equivalent, enforcable global standards to protect local workers and the environment.

-Local economies suffer when large scale manufacturers edge out small businesses from the market – these profits are most often channeled out of the country instead of being invested locally.

-Fair trade standards redefine world trade in a way that includes environmental and social considerations.

-Whether trade is good for producers and consumers depends entirely on how the goods are made and how they are sold.

-«Trade is neither inherently good nor bad. But how it is conducted is a matter of concern – and an unprecedented opportunity. Trade can either contribute to the process of sustainable development or undermine it. » -Hilary French-