World Fair Trade Day, 9 May 2009, is an international celebration of Fair Trade, with events organised worldwide. On and around the second Saturday of May every year, fair Trade organisations based in over 70 countries, along with Fair Trade shops and networks, host events to promote Fair Trade and campaign for trade justice. Fair Trade products from producers in disadvantaged countries, including coffee and tea, clothes, jewellery and handicrafts will be showcased on this day. See sample fair trade gifts.

World Fair Trade Day began as a European movement of over 2,000 World Shops (Fair Trade shops), working together to celebrate the same day and campaign for Fair Trade and was adopted by WFTO in 2001, to promote stronger global awareness of Fair Trade. The profile has grown rapidly ever since.

This Year's Theme

World Fair Trade Day 2009 is a salute to the people and organizations who have dedicated themselves to making Fair Trade what it is today, a solution not an issue. Fair Trade is not just about poverty, it's a solution to poverty, Fair Trade is not just about climate change, it's a solution to environmental degradation and bad practice. Fair Trade is not just about protest, it's about change. Change that's long overdue.

Fair Trade aims to change the economic and social structure of our world, and empowers marginalized people to help them escape the poverty trap. If adults are paid a fair price for their work, their children are able to go to school and live a healthy and full life, rather than having to work. Fair Trade not only benefits adults - it helps kids too!

In 2004, 246 million children aged between five and seventeen were child labourers, 73 million working children were less than 10 years old, 180 million worked in extremely dangerous conditions and 6.4 million children were trapped in slavery, trafficking, debt bondage, prostitution, pornography and other illicit activities.

Governmental programmes are often ineffective because the root cause of child labour is not tackled: poverty. The unfair terms of trade for raw materials, crippling import tariffs in industrial countries, heavily subsidised goods from industrial countries are all practices that exclude and marginalise millions of people in the rural South. Fair Trade makes a concrete contribution to the reduction of poverty and thus tackles one of the main causes of child labour.

The exciting thing about World Fair Trade Day is that it is celebrated throughout the world, and has unique perspective for wealthy countries, where the awareness of Fair Trade is rapidly growing. The movement of Fair Trade, at the same time as showcasing a way of trading that puts marginalised people and the environment first, is also spurring new thinking in economic equity, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and ethical compliance. On World Fair Trade Day, and often throughout the month of May, shops and the media help to bring new customers to Fair Trade promoting products which in turn promotes livelihoods for small-scale producers. IFAT's Fair Trade members use World Fair Trade Day to celebrate and communicate their vision, to the larger community, and showcase itself as the Gold Standard for Fair trade, social justice and sustainability. If you would like to run an event to celebrate World Fair Trade Day on May 12th, no matter how small, it's a wonderful opportunity to run a Fair Trade fashion show, or arrange a Fair Trade brunch with friends, or arrange for some materials and catalogues to be sent, to pass around your office. Do get in touch with your local Fairtrade organizations and shops to see how you can get in involved.

Phil Soulsby

About the Author

"Fair Trade" Phil is a former banker who left a lucrative job to set up an ethical business focusing on Fair Trade and the Environment and to campaign for the rights of the disadvantaged. Read more in his Topical blog on ethical consumerism.