We think of Fair Trade mainly as a certification, but it has also emerged as an approach to the structures of impactful enterprises. In fact, the pioneers of Fair Trade were mission-led businesses that gave power and priority to farmers and workers. The 330 Fair Trade enterprises across 70 countries, with turnover ranging from under $100k to over $100m, and in sectors ranging from chocolate to jewelry, have in common a structure that has been audited to confirm that its priority is the workers and farmers who make the products.
Recognizing the importance of structural elements, the World Fair Trade Organization has compiled a taxonomy of business structures that appear throughout its network of businesses, with diverse products, size and location. From this analysis emerges an interesting triangulation of mission, human rights conditions, and trading practices.
In this webinar, Erinch Sahan, Chief Executive of the WFTO, provides an overview of the features of Fair Trade enterprises, talks through examples, and suggests implications for investors interested in supporting impactful businesses (pre-reading available here).
Johny Joseph, CEO of Creative Handicrafts, then provides an example the structure for the women worker-owned Fair Trade Enterprise he runs in Mumbai. In doing so, we explore concretely how the interface of finance and social enterprise plays out in some tricky conditions.
