World Fair Trade Day in Kolkata

wftd
Originally uploaded by dalbhat.

MAY 14, 2005
Fair Trade Forum-India hosted a wonderful event at St. Paul's Cathedral in celebration of World Fair Trade Day. The theme for this year was "Fair Trade is PEACE." The main event and finale was a highly professional fashion show where artisan-producers themselves modeled their fashions!

Fair Trade Forum - India is a national network of Voluntary Organizations, Producer Cooperatives, Producer / artisan groups and development organizations involved in income generation activities, facilitators of fair trade, Alternative Trading Organizations, Intermediary and support services organizations and promoters of fair trade concepts etc. It is a registered national organization, a nonprofit society with its constitution and by-laws governed and managed by an elected Executive Committee; and is also a member of the Asian Fair Trade Forum sharing concerns with International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT).

PRINCIPLES OF FAIR TRADE:
-- Producers are able to get fair-price for their produce/products.
-- Ethical standards are followed in processing, producing, marketing of produces/products.
--The producers or the buyers exploit neither the people nor the environment irreparably.
-- Dignity of the producers is upheld and the meaning and values of producer/products are shared from among the purchasers and consumers.
-- Fair Trade is promoted as an effective alternative to both aid and conventional Trade.
-- Through trading partnership, facilitate sus tainable development for the marginalized, disadvantaged, excluded producers.
-- Trading conditions are constantly watched to avoid and/or overcome the discriminatory processes and practices in the process of production and marketing.
-- Fair Trade to bring closer the (Southern) Producers and (Northern) Consumers by the extent possible by reducing the gap.
-- Fair Trade is promoted to be a mutually responsive trading relationship.
-- Fair Trade process to instill self-confidence, dignity and fair returns to the producers and reasonable price line for good quality products to the consumers.
-- Fair trade envelops social audit, a socially just and a transparent accountable trading system.
-- Fair trade to ensure economic development and social empowerment of the marginalized.