Fair Trade, like coffee, is complex, rich and fascinating.
We now have available a new educational resource: The History of Authentic Fair Trade. In comic book format we present a version of Fair Trade that is shared by many Equal Exchange colleagues, allies, and partners. We hope that by presenting the material in this way, with heroes and villains, and condensed stories, it will pique the reader’s curiosity so that she will dig deeper, ask questions, and ultimately make a conscious decision about where she stands in relation to small farmers, co-operatives, and democratic movements, as well as corporations, certifying agencies, and alternative trade organizations.
So sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee as you contemplate this history of Fair Trade, and decide how it all fits together on your path to peace and social justice.
Click here to read an on-line version. Click here to download your copy today! Clik aqui para leerlo en espanol. Individuals can purchase a hard copy here.
Stores: To order multiple copies, please call your sales representative.
Small Farmers. Big Change. 
This is really amazing Phyllis, well done to you and everyone who helped!
Thanks Michael, we appreciate that!
Bravo Phyllis and Equal Exchange!
Fair Trade Resource Network says “This educational work of art presents an engaging story of the history of Fair Trade from the perspective of interests focused on fully committed Fair Trade, small farmers and democratic producer coops. While some Fair Trade interests will disagree with some of the opinions in, and tone of, the story, the comic covers many key events and insightful global contexts under which Fair Trade has evolved since its beginnings.”
Well done EE! This was very exciting to read and a great new development tool for Fair Trade education. To be completely fair, the drive for certifiers did not necessarily stem just from corporate interests and lobbying to grow supply, but also from the certifier’s own misguided belief that Fair Trade could have a bigger impact to farmers by adding plantations into the mix.
Thanks Ryan, Jeff and Andrew!
Jeff, thanks for reviewing the comic book; I appreciate it.
Andrew, thanks for your clarification; absolutely, there are many people working for the FT certifying agencies who believe that by adding plantations (and multinational corporations) into the “mix”, there will be bigger impact on farmers.
The questions remain: Is this in fact happening? What kind of impact are we talking about? Who actually benefits when a plantation is certified Fair Trade? And at what and whose cost? What impact are “fair trade” plantations having on small farmer co-ops? (For an analysis of the impact of “Fair Trade” plantation tea on small tea farmers and on our ability to create small farmer supply chains with real economic and political power for tea farmers, please read Rink Dickinson’s articles:
https://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2011/10/25/an-analysis-of-fair-trade-reflections-from-a-founder-part-iii/
and
https://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2014/01/02/small-farmers-big-change-in-south-india-part-i/
Other important questions: Whose decision is it to change the direction (and lower the standards) of Fair Trade and still be allowed to call it Fair Trade? Whose voices are at the table and how open and fair is the decision-making process? Is Fair Trade about democracy and change or is it a marketing tool? Do the stated Fair Trade goals of transparency and democratic decision-making apply only to small farmer co-ops, or to the businesses that sell Fair Trade products, and the certifying agencies that make decisions on “behalf of the farmers?”
These are just some of the many questions we are asking. We are committed to doing the hard work of building authentic small farmer supply chains with our partners all while keeping consumers informed and engaged in the debates as they happen. This is the richness and beauty of Authentic Fair Trade (which is not the same as Fair Trade certification), and what keeps so many of us involved year after year.