World Fair-Trade Day 2021

Each year, on the second Saturday in May, World Fair Trade Day is celebrated.  The Fair World Project explains the purpose of this day well: “to showcase the small-scale producers at the heart of the fair-trade movement and the contributions they make to healthy and sustainable communities around the world”. 

This year’s theme is #BuildBackFairer. The idea behind this theme is to come out of the pandemic with a higher set of standards for the companies that we support; to demand better, or fairer, from them.

But what exactly does fair-trade mean? The movement acknowledges that the production and buying of products is intertwined with people’s livelihood and the environment. It seeks to support companies that make responsible decisions in terms of how their production affects their workers, surrounding communities, and the environment. 

How can you tell if something is fair-trade?

This image shows the Fair-Trade Certified seal. In the case of a product, the seal would be located on the packaging, and in the case of a website, it is likely to be at the bottom of the page. For a product or company to have this seal, it must meet the following requirements:

• Safe working conditions
• Environmental protection
• Sustainable livelihoods
• Community Development Funds

But there are also ways you can evaluate companies to determine if they meet your own ethics and/or sustainability standards, regardless of whether or not they have the Fair-Trade Certified seal. In general, a company that is committed to high ethical and sustainability standards is going to be transparent about it. Usually, information can be found on a company’s website under “About Us” or more specific information tabs. 

A noteworthy example of a transparent company is Reformation. On their website, you can click the “Sustainability” tab to scroll through information about their commitment to sustainability in terms of people, their products, the planet, and their progress. They also release quarterly sustainability reports that allow you to read through extensive information on the company’s factories, partners, materials, emissions, water usage, and more.

Reports, such as this one, allow you to read through the information and make a decision for yourself whether or not you want your money to go towards a company or not. While a lack of transparency does not necessarily mean that a company is unethical or unsustainable, it is a pretty safe rule of thumb. After all, we should be calling for transparency from companies so we can hold them accountable and push them to be better – or, appropriately, #BuildBackFairer.

To learn more about World Fair Trade Day, here are a couple of websites to check out: 

World Fair Trade Day 2021: https://wfto.com/fairtradeday2021/

Fair Trade Certified https://www.fairtradecertified.org/why-fair-trade