A square deal: fair trade is good business for Third World producers.

In America, a tremendous amount of energy is devoted to upholding the rights of consumers to be treated fairly. Misleading advertising and labeling, poor quality products, unsafe food, price gouging--all are without question, taboo. The other side of the equation, however--the fair and safe treatment and payment of those who make or harvest products, and the environmental consequences of that production--is only now catching up, especially when the workers are outside the U.S.

A small but growing group of businesses and nonprofit organizations is working to introduce to American consumers products that are "fairly traded," i.e., which treat producers ethically, offering a fair price for the fruits of their labor, and harvest raw materials sustainably. Fair traders, also known as "alternative trading organizations" have initially concentrated on a few products, such as coffee, crafts and handmade clothing, produced by individual artisans or local cooperatives. Their message is receiving increased attention as concerns over the exploitation of cheap labor in economically depressed parts of the world increase.

By giving artisans a tally responsible," says Darren Stepanik, national sales director for Boulder, Colorado-based Tribal Fiber, a start-up importer of hand-woven, naturally dyed hemp products made by village cooperatives in northern Thailand.

Although some corporations have been pressured into improving standards for overseas workers, or say they "buy direct" from local producers, such piecemeal practices do not constitute "fair trade," notes Equal Exchange's Brown.

In addition to buying direct and eliminating "middlemen," Brown says, fair trade means committing to paying a fair price, guaranteeing a minimum price, providing advance credit, working with only democratically-run cooperatives, promoting sustainable agriculture, and paying a premium for organic products. These formal "fair trade" guidelines are adhered to by members of two associations, the Massachusetts-based Fair Trade Federation (FTF), an alliance of retail shops, and the International Federation for Alternative Trade, representing a broader global membership of producers, traders and retailers.

"We are very focused on raising consumer awareness in the U.S.," says FTF Executive Director Mimi Stephens. American consumers' global perspective has lagged well behind that of Europeans, Stephens says, but she hopes to build on the rising interest in organic food here to get U.S. consumers "to think about the conditions under which products are made," as well as grown.

Coffee is currently the largest fairly traded product, with global retail sales of about $200 million, says Brown. Other food items, such as honey, sugar, tea, bananas and cocoa can and are being imported by fair trading groups too, she adds.

The future looks good, The introduction in the U.S. of a fair trading certification label for food products--the internationally recognized "TransFair" symbol of a figure holding two bowls--is currently in the works. Public interest is up in North America and fair traders are projecting increased sales, which will benefit artisans and growers around the world as well as the bottom line. CONTACT: Fair Trade Federation, PO Box 126, Barre, MA 01005/[phone].

LAUREN OTIS has written widely on the social implications of business practices. He lives in Trenton, NJ.