Fair Trade was an important theme within People’s Economy activities at last January’s World Social Forum, the first meeting of the kind to be held outside Brasil, in Mumbai, India.
A striking event was the launching of the International Fair Trade Association’s mark at Daravi Slum, the biggest slum in Asia, on January 19th 2004 (see photo).

About 20 seminars and workshops were organized on Fair Trade, an alternative form of trade based on voluntary standards, respecting social and environmental rights of the producers. Participants agreed that even if Fair Trade is currently marginal in the world economy, it supports around 5 million farmers and artisans worldwide and represents a model of a sustainable trade respecting producers, workers and the environment’s rights, which can contribute to “change the rules of the game” of international trade.

Due to a greater awareness of consumers and citizens in the last few years, the Fair Trade movement is growing in Europe, Latin America and South Asia. Not only does it contribute to a better income of small and medium scale producers, but it can also be a leverage force for food sovereignty and local development. Fair Trade is not only about exporting products from the South to the North, but also about getting closer consumers and producers within those regions of the world. It is part of the global movement for a fair economic order, advocating for market regulations, which would subordinate trade rules to social and environmental rights.

Some strategic issues have been discussed, such as the options for the development of this movement, by increasing volumes or linking its activities with other people’s economy practices. At a political level, the focus of a world campaign could be aimed not only at fighting subsidies in the North, but also advocating for fair prices and trade regulations. As these issues were discussed, participants agreed that an international dialogue with farmers’ movements and trade unions should take place.

Fair Trade should be part of the economic agenda of the World Social Forum, which is globally concerned with the negative impacts of world trade. The seminars also highlighted the potential of India, a country of hundreds of thousands of shops, stores and independent retailers, as a showcase for alternative trade practices.