Find Experts & Sources AlterLinks.ca Indexes Home Subject Index Title Index Author Index Chronological Index Dewey Index Library of Congress Index Alterlinks Experts & News SOURCES - Experts & spokespersons News Releases Event Calendar Sources Shop Affiliate Program Connexions Calendar Alternative Sources Civil Liberties Conflict Resolution Consensus Co-operatives Diemer.ca Farragher Nature Art Free Speech Connexions Marxism Resources Political Alternatives Radical Political Thought Revolution Self-Determination Socialism in Connexions Sources Unoffensive free speech Universities & Colleges Health Practitioners Other Resources Getting Publicity Media Directory Twitter Connexions Library Subject Index Connexions Library Title Index

The No-Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade Ransom, David Publisher:  Between the Lines, Toronto, Canada Year Published:  2001   Pages:  144pp   Price:  $15   ISBN:  1-896357-47-4 Library of Congress Number:  HF1379.N66 2001   Dewey:  382 Resource Type:  Book Ransom suggests that fair, environmentally-conscious trade is not only a viable alternative to unfair free trade, but that it is the way of the future. Abstract:  The No-Nonsense Guide To Fair Trade begins with a brief overview of the history of international trade, highlighting the unfair characteristics of free trade and the need for a viable alternative. David Ransom proposes that this alternative exists, albeit on a small scale, in fair trade ventures around the world. He states that fair trade is concerned with "reasserting human control over a mechanism that claims to be in the best interests of everyone but no longer even bothers to prove it," giving a human dimension to the free market. In the following four chapters, Ransom uses case studies to discuss the pitfalls of free trade and the potential of fair trade. Often seen through the lens of the author's own travel experiences, the cases introduce the reader to a variety of individuals in Latin America and Africa. Ransom tells of a Peruvian coffee farmer whose livelihood is subjected to the whims of the international commodity market, but also of a banana farmer in the Dominican Republic who successfully produces fair trade, organic crops. Each of these individuals is affected by the dominant economic regime of free trade and many engender an optimistic vision of fair trade as an alternative. The final chapters examine free trade and fair trade from the perspective of purchasers. Integrating economic terminology, a critique of international institutions such as the World Trade Organization, and real-life stories, Ransom proposes that consumers can make intentional changes in patterns of consumption to make a difference in the world. He suggests that fair, environmentally-conscious trade is not only a viable alternative to unfair free trade, but that it is the way of the future. [Abstract by Tara McElroy] Topics Africa African Development Alternative Trade Bananas Bangladesh Capitalism Central America Child Labour China/Economy Chocolate Clothing Industry Clothing/Textile Trade Law Coffee Commodities Commodities Purchasing Competition vs Co-operation Cotton Economic Alternatives Environment/Developing Countries Environment-Friendly Label Environmental Degradation Environmental Impacts Fair Trade Free Trade/Effects of Futures Trading Garments Globalization Guatemala Human Rights Abuses/International Human Rights/Enforcement Human Rights/International Import Replacement International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Trade Labour Standards Latin America Latin American Development North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Organic Agriculture/Food Organic Farming Poverty Prices Slavery Socialism/Case for Structural Adjustment Sustainability Sustainable Agriculture Sustainable Development Textile Industry Trade Trade/Developing Countries Trade/International Trade Issues Trade Liberalization Trade Policy Transnational Corporations U.S. Foreign Policy U.S. & International Markets Wages Women in Agriculture Women/Developing Countries Women in Development Women/Poverty Women's Incomes Workers' Rights Working Conditions Workplace Environment Workplace Hazards Workplace Human Rights World Bank World Trade Organization (WTO)

AlterLinks
c/o Sources, 812A Bloor Street West, Suite 201, Toronto, ON M6G 1L9.
Phone: (416) 964-7799 FAX: (416) 964-8763

© Sources 2011. The information provided is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form or by any means (whether electronic, mechanical or photographic), or stored in an electronic retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher. The content may not be resold, republished, or redistributed. Indexing and search applications by Ulli Diemer and Chris DeFreitas.