The Four Pillars of Fair Trade: Institutions

Abstract

The few large Fair Trade institutions that make up pillar I of Fair Trade are important influencers and promoters of justice. They form the communication bridge over which producers and consumers engage, sharing in goods and stories. They also set the guidelines, standards, and meaning of Fair Trade that are applied to producers and taught to consumers. Fair Trade guidelines vary as does the definition of Fair Trade and institutions’ missions. This diversity in approaching Fair Trade without a unified definition or method enables a larger experience of trade to emerge and makes Fair Trade a greater model of justice. Starting in 1998, there are now four principal Fair Trade institutions with members representing over 7.5 million Fair Trade producer families, 32,500 different Fair Trade products, and over $6.8 billion in annual sales (Fairtrade Foundation, 2012; Fair Trade USA, 2011; Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International — FLO], 2011). These institutions are the European-based World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) and the US-based Fair Trade Federation (FTF) and Fair Trade USA (FTUSA). All emerged in or close to the decade of the 1990s (Figure 2.1).