Fair Trade isn't just about coffee. It's a roadmap for economic revolution

A statement by the Green Economy Coalition and the World Fair Trade Organization arguing that Fair Trade Enterprises provide a blueprint for reforming the global economy by prioritizing community benefit, environmental engagement, and long-term supplier partnerships over short-term profit maximization.

• Fair Trade Enterprises operate across 82 countries in various sectors, including food, fashion, plastic recycling, and digital services, serving as a tested alternative to global hypercapitalism.
• The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) Fair Trade Enterprise approach is defined by four key facets: being locally based and connected to communities; maintaining long-term partnerships with suppliers to avoid opaque supply chains; operating for the benefit of employees and the community rather than investors; and maintaining environmental engagement through local production techniques that can enable low or zero-carbon models.
• Fair Trade Enterprises prioritize local stakeholders—including customers, employees, and suppliers—over distant shareholders, reinvesting profits into fair wages, protected environments, and good jobs.
• Specific examples of this model include Township Patterns, a fashion social enterprise established in 1997 in South Africa to support township-based sewing co-operatives, and Maquita in Ecuador, which reinvests all profits into local workers, farmers, and artisans and includes them on its board.
• Research indicates that at least half of the public in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France believe a major overhaul of the economic system is necessary.

APA

Sahan, E., & Martin, B. (2021). Fair Trade isn't just about coffee. It's a roadmap for economic revolution. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/fair-trade-isnt-just-bananas-and-coffee-its-a-roadmap-for-economic-revolution

Chicago

Sahan, Erinch, and Ben Martin. Fair Trade isn't just about coffee. It's a roadmap for economic revolution. Green Economy Coalition, 2021. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/fair-trade-isnt-just-bananas-and-coffee-its-a-roadmap-for-economic-revolution.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Sahan |first1=Erinch |last2=Martin |first2=Ben |title=Fair Trade isn't just about coffee. It's a roadmap for economic revolution |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=8 May 2021 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/fair-trade-isnt-just-bananas-and-coffee-its-a-roadmap-for-economic-revolution |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{sahan2021fair, author = {Sahan, Erinch and Martin, Ben}, title = {{Fair Trade isn't just about coffee. It's a roadmap for economic revolution}}, publisher = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/fair-trade-isnt-just-bananas-and-coffee-its-a-roadmap-for-economic-revolution}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }