Fair Trade has for a long time been pioneered by a small group of passionate, ethically guided businesses wanting to demonstrate that there are better ways of doing business that are good for everyone.  Some of these companies like Divine Chocolate and Traidcraft have broken into the mainstream and become major brands in their own right, helping to put pressure on larger, more established brands to adopt Fair Trade practices.

We are now finally starting to see a turnaround in policies with multinational corporations such as Cadbury’s and Starbucks recognizing consumer pressure and introducing Fair Trade products into their range.  This is great news for producers in developing countries who will benefit from these Fair Trade products, but do these corporations have the best interests of producers at heart, or are they hijacking Fair Trade?

Join the debate

This question will be the subject of a panel debate at the International Youth for Fair Trade Conference in Coventry at the end of this month.

If you’re passionate about International Development and Fair Trade, don’t miss your chance to take part in this crucial debate and put your views to our panel of experts including representatives from the Fair Trade Foundation and Action Aid.

Book now

The International Youth for Fair Trade Conference is being held in the centre of Coventry on Friday 30th October to Sunday 1st November 2009.  Places are limited and filling up fast, so don’t risk leaving it to the last minute.

If you book before October 16th you’ll get a reduced rate of just £16.10 so be sure to sign up in the next few days. UPDATE. Thanks to DFID we can now reallocate part of our grant and make this conference FREE when using the promo code FAIRTRADE – booking essential and places are limited. Don’t miss out.

Reserve your place online now at http://tr.im/y4ft2009.

For more information, contact David Williams by email or call +44 (0)24 7652 1265.

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