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Imagine a world in which anyone working received enough.

You shouldn’t have to! But how can it be that probably someone somewhere suffered to produce it? What if every worker down the production chain just had to receive enough to live in dignity?

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universal fairtrade

We believe that it is possible to make fair pay on every level of production a prerequisite for trade.

“Fair pay” meaning enough to cover basic human needs.

So this is not about defining a global minimum wage, but rather a minimum standard of living that every employee has to be able to afford.

Gradually introducing universal fairtrade is likely to strengthen the global economy by creating new consumer markets, thus increasing demand.

Countries which provide well for their citizens are being rewarded as companies are left with less of their employees’ basic needs to take care of.

Yet countries relying on cheap labour will be able to maintain that economic advantage as they can provide for basic human needs at a lower cost.

Consumer prices rise marginally. The poorest workers’ wages only make up a tiny fraction of a product’s price.

The people who consume the bulk of goods are the people who make them. That is a fact we must never forget — that is the secret of our prosperity.

Henry Ford

If countries or federations relied on companies to report each other there would be no need for a bureaucratic certification. Passing a law and persecuting violations would be enough to introduce universal fairtrade.

Activists and volunteers would be highly motivated to reveal transgressions, too. Noncompliance could later be fined up to revocation of the license to trade.

We suggest the EU adopts universal fairtrade as a policy. If it announces its introduction in 6 years from now, companies will have enough time to adjust.

Universal fairtrade poses a unique opportunity for the union to live up to its core values. It is a chance to exert its economic power to the wellbeing of all global citizens.