Principles

For Health, Justice and Sustainability

At the 1st Annual Domestic Fair Trade Working Group (DFTWG) meeting, the appointed Steering Committee was tasked with drafting Principles for the movement. The following principles were revised at the DFTA Annual Meeting in December 2008.

DFT Principles

What follows is our attempt to translate the traditional principles of international Fair Trade, as expressed by organizations such as the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) and the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), into the domestic, regional and local economic spheres.  Our primary goal is to support family-scale farming, to reinforce farmer-led initiatives such as farmer co-operatives, and to bring these groups together with mission-based traders, retailers and concerned consumers to contribute to the movement for sustainable agriculture in North America. It is our hope that in maintaining a consistent approach that shares basic values with those of international Fair Trade, we may help create a more holistic model that can be applied wherever trade takes place. These principles are not specific standards, but rather represent the values that underlie and guide our work together as organizations and individuals committed to “Health, Justice and Sustainability.”

The principles and goals that unite our organizations in this effort are:

Principles. The work of the DFTA is guided by the Principles for Domestic Fair Trade as defined by its members.  These principles represent the values that underlie and guide our work together as organizations and individuals united for the promotion of “Health, Justice and Sustainability”:

• Family Scale Farming. Fair Trade focuses on reinforcing the position of small and family-scale producers that have been or are being marginalized by the mainstream marketplace, as a means of preserving the culture of farming and rural communities, promoting economic democracy, environmental and humane stewardship and biodiversity, and ensuring a more healthy and sustainable planet.
  

• Capacity Building for Producers and Workers. Fair Trade is a means of developing the producers and workers independence, strengthening their ability to engage directly with the marketplace, and to gain more control over their futures.  The resources from trading relationships are directed toward this purpose in a participatory manner by those who will benefit from them. 
  

• Democratic & Participatory Ownership & Control. Fair Trade emphasizes co-operative organization as a means of empowering producers, workers and consumers to gain more control over their economic and social lives.  In situations where such organization is absent, mechanisms will be created to ensure the democratic participation of producers and workers, and the equitable distribution of the fruits of trade.
  

• Rights of Labor. Fair Trade means a safe and healthy working environment for producers and workers and conforms to all ILO Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The participation of children (if any) does not adversely affect their well-being, security, educational requirements and need for play and conforms to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as pertinent local/regional laws.  Fair Trade ensures that there are mechanisms in place through which hired labor has an independent voice and is included in the benefits of trade through mechanisms such as living wages, profit-sharing, and cooperative workplace structures.  Programs of apprenticeship are promoted to develop the skills of the next generation of farmers, artisans and workers.
  

• Equality & Opportunity. Fair Trade emphasizes the empowerment of women, minorities, indigenous peoples and other marginalized members of society to represent their own interests, participate directly in trade and to share in its economic benefits.
  

• Direct Trade.  Where possible, Fair Trade attempts to reduce the intermediaries between the primary producer and the consumer, delivering more of the benefits of such trade to the producer and connecting consumers more directly with the source of their food and other products, and with the people who produced them.
  

• Fair & Stable Pricing. A fair price is one that has been agreed upon through dialogue and participation. It covers not only the costs of production but enables production which is socially just and environmentally sound. It provides fair pay to the producers, fair wages to laborers, and takes into account the principle of equal pay for equal work by women and men. Fair Traders ensure prompt payment and stable pricing that enables producers to plan for the future.
  

• Shared Risk & Affordable Credit. Farmers often bear the greatest risks of agriculture and an unstable marketplace.  Fair Traders work to share these risks among producers, processors, marketers and consumers through more equitable trade partnerships, fair and prompt payment, transparent relationships and affordable credit.  In situations where access to credit is difficult, or the terms of credit are not beneficial to producers, Fair Traders provide or facilitate access to such credit, or assist producers in creating their own mechanisms for providing credit.
  

• Long-Term Trade Relationships. Fair Trade fosters long-term trade partnerships at all levels within the production, processing and marketing chain that provide producers with stability and opportunities to develop marketing, production and quality skills, as well as access to new markets for their products.
  

• Sustainable Agriculture. Fair Trade emphasizes a holistic approach to agriculture, as defined by Via Campesina to include fishing, hunting and gathering and other means of sourcing food. Fair Trade supports sustainable agricultural strategies such as Organic, Biodynamic, non-toxic Bio-intensive Integrated Pest Management, farm diversification and small-scale farming that protect the environment, sustain farming communities, and provide consumers with quality, healthy food.  Fair Trade emphasizes the biodiversity of traditional agriculture, supports the rights of farmers to their own seed, and preserves cultural diversity. Fair Trade also emphasizes sustainable business practices through the entire supply chain which can include green office operations, use of alternative energies or other sustainable practices from farm to consumer.

• Appropriate Technology.  Fair Trade supports the use of traditional technologies, which are openly and freely shared in the public domain, and excludes plants and animals, and biological processes, which have been genetically engineered or modified. Further, fair trade discourages the use of machinery that threaten the health, safety and employment opportunities for farmworkers and farm families.
  

• Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. Fair Trade supports indigenous peoples’ rights to land for cultivation, fishing, hunting & gathering in customary and traditional ways; to freely exchange seeds and to retain rights to their germplasm. These rights are congruent with the Convention on Biological Diversity. We fully support the right of indigenous and all peoples to food sovereignty.  
  

• Transparency & Accountability.  The Fair Trade system depends on transparency of costs, pricing and structures at all levels of the trading system.  Fair Traders are accountable to each other and the wider community by openly sharing such information.
  

• Education & Advocacy.  Fair Trade emphasizes education at all levels of the agricultural chain, engaging farmers, workers, traders and consumers in advocating for a more equitable, democratic and sustainable economy.  Fair Traders in particular educate consumers about the inequities of the trading system and the need for alternatives, while sharing information with producers about the marketplace.  Education strengthens the Fair Trade movement and empowers its stakeholders in creating a better world for everyone.