FAIR TRADE FORUM INDIA

Fair Trade Plus: Increasing the Impact of Fair Trade as a Means to Fight Poverty

Fair Trade Forum India (FTFI)

Start: 2006

Scope: India

Members: 45 organizations representing over 80,000 producers

The Fair Trade Forum India (FTFI) was created to adapt the fair trade practices to the specific local features. This NGO includes various organizations for developing successful production and marketing techniques based on the principles of fair trade. In fact, expansion of fair trade involves professionalizing the commercial chain and requires the creation of close connections between the various stakeholders, including the small producers. The forum thus aims to develop the entrepreneurial capacities and facilitate sharing information, experience and knowledge.

In concrete terms, the Forum organizes seminars to:

raise awareness of fair trade

Fair Trade Day 2006 improve management techniques and the quality of products according to specific local features,

understand the needs of the consumers and develop adequate marketing tools,

become familiar with the policies of the OMC and define common positions.

Salons, exhibitions and a fair trade day are also organized annually. Oxfam co-organizes a series of activities, in particular as regards seminars in the field of food products.

Context

Fair trade offers the opportunity to rebalance traditional trade relationships. Nonetheless, micro and small enterprises (MSEs) taking part in fair trade often lack knowledge of this form of trade and of development of its markets. These gaps in knowledge prevent the producers from benefiting fully from the potentialities of the expanding fair trade. They also affect negatively the quality of the products and the adequacy of the supplies. This tends to put western consumers off. The sector of fair trade handicraft has thus lost its credibility with all the actors in the chain.

The Fair Trade Plus project

The Fair Trade Plus project seeks to respond to the crisis that is working its way through fair trade artisan by making it more efficient so that poverty in India can be reduced. It aims at encouraging access to the European market by initiating the MSE managers on how fair trade operates (practices in fair share, fair policies and consumption in Europe, cooperation with European organizations, etc.) and by explaining to them their position and their responsibility in the production chain.

The assistance is thus situated at the level of training the trainers, developing tools and training seminars, as well as supporting a number of micro and small enterprises in becoming involved in the fair solution.

Fair Trade Plus is developed in partnership with the “Asia-Invest” programme of the European Commission. It was implemented by Traidcraft, an English fair trade organization.