Fair Trade
Fair trade is a system that ensures farmers and producers in developing countries receive a fair price for their goods.
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Fair trade is a system that ensures farmers and producers in developing countries receive a fair price for their goods.
- Products carry a Fairtrade label
- Premiums fund community projects
- It supports better working conditions
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Fair Trade?
Within Economics & Civics, which covers money, markets, business, government, law and citizenship: how societies are organised and run, this topic explains Fair Trade. Economics and civics topics explain how money, markets, laws and government affect people, so each topic here pairs a clear definition with a model.
Check that you can explain Fair Trade in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Fair Trade helps you read the news critically and weigh up policies, choices and arguments about society.
Fair Trade in detail
Fair Trade is a movement that aims to give producers in developing countries better trading conditions. It guarantees a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production, pays a premium for community projects such as schools and clean water, and promotes safe working conditions and no child labour.
Products such as coffee, cocoa, bananas and cotton can carry a Fairtrade label. Benefits include stable incomes and community development, while criticisms include higher prices for consumers, that only some of the extra money reaches farmers and that it may not tackle the root causes of poverty. It is an example of ethical consumerism.
How the interactive helps you understand Fair Trade
Click a card to flip it and reveal the answer, then move on to the next one.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Fair Trade.
Real-life uses and examples
- Give a balanced answer about Fair Trade by considering more than one point of view.
- Relate Fair Trade to a news story about prices, jobs, elections or government spending.
- Use Fair Trade to weigh up the pros and costs of a policy or decision.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Confusing a short-term effect with a long-term one.
- Giving an opinion without evidence or a clear economic or civic reason.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Fair Trade
What is Fair Trade?
Fair trade is a system that ensures farmers and producers in developing countries receive a fair price for their goods.
What are the most important points about Fair Trade?
The main points are: Products carry a Fairtrade label; Premiums fund community projects; It supports better working conditions.
Why is Fair Trade useful?
Understanding Fair Trade helps you read the news critically and weigh up policies, choices and arguments about society.
How can I practise Fair Trade?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Fair Trade?
Related topics in Economics & Civics include Consumer Rights, The Circular Flow of Income, Types of Government.