In the face of the universal gospel of “free trade”, it was heresy. Yet it took hold and now that the global economy is in shambles, it stands as a potential model for doing business differently, globally and locally.

Or does it?

It started as a simple proposal in the late 80’s. At the height of “free trade” frenzy, aimed at breaking down all obstacles and obligations, political, social and environmental for international trade. The crass justification for free trade was that if those with wealth were able to maximize their profits, it would “trickle down” to everyone else. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith suggested that was akin to thinking “if one feeds the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows”.

Rather than, or perhaps in addition to, the high-minded but ultimately hopeless protests at the time, the idea of Fair Trade was to make a concrete proposal – concrete ideas that would foster concrete actions.