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ABSTRACT
The notion of FAIR TRADE is a concept that has been widely debated and criticized, not only for the many failed experiments but also for the very inconsistency of its ethical claims. If FAIR TRADE is the process by which the social and economic disparency between the rich and the extremely poor is readjusted via the process of introducing ethical standards in the trading between the two, then this very process has been proven to not only place a substantial financial stress on the poor farmers with the cost and time consuming process of earning the FAIR TRADE brand, it has also been shown that the revenue expected from this process doesn't necessarily end up in these farmers hands, while at the same time placing the normal farmers in a competitive disadvantage, all in the name of providing a false sense of moral relief for consumers. The ethical concern deepens as political agendas are often enforced on these farmers in the name of sustainable development policies that falls short in most cases by focusing on a bigger picture objective while neglecting the day to day lives and sacrifices of these farmers. The most apparent result of these problems is the money trail which seems to completely disappear after the initial trade, the fact is studies has shown that the farmers affiliated with the FAIR TRADE movement have not shown an increase of wealth or betterment of lifestyle, rather the associations in charge of the farmers are constantly seen a nest of corruption and financial scandals, as the mission of inspecting and auditing the trade and it's results is rarely seen to its end.
Keywords: Ethical, FAIR TRADE, Farmers
1.INTRODUCTION
This study analyses the claim that Fairtrade is ethical trading. It starts with a brief outline of Fairtrade and sets out the basic ethical criteria to be used. These are then expanded and extended as fuller details of the operation of Fairtrade are presented. Fairtrade is a commercial brand. Its owners, the Fairtrade Foundation, have been very successful in persuading customers of their genuine 'ethical trading', and that by buying Fairtrade goods they are giving producers a fair price, dealing fairly with them, and giving money to poor producers in the Third World. It...