World Fair Trade Day: history and traditions of the holiday. World Fair Trade Day

World Fair Trade Day is celebrated on May 11th. It is no secret that trade is not always conducted honestly: stores sometimes resort to various tricks to force the buyer to spend more. By learning about simple rules, you can avoid being scammed.

On Fair Trade Day there are many seminars and business meetings, where trade-related problems are discussed and ways to solve them are suggested. 11 everyone can appreciate honesty retail outlets, paying attention to the behavior of sellers, as well as people organizing sales in large shopping malls.

In the modern world, a huge number of stores offer their goods, enticing potential buyers colorful showcases, tempting promotions and bonuses. Before you go shopping grocery stores, it is worth remembering that at a retail outlet there are many tricks waiting for everyone to force them to buy more. Here are a few rules that will help you save money.

How not to be deceived when shopping

1. You need to go to grocery stores well-fed. Marketers know a lot about sales, so most retail outlets will have tempting scents waiting for customers. The crispy buns and the smell of fresh baked goods make you salivate involuntarily. At such moments, it is important to remember: this is a deception that forces you to buy too much. Fruits and vegetables that are sprayed with water to give them a more appetizing look look no less tempting.

2. Necessary goods at a fair price are not placed at eye level. Shelves with treasured products are located near the floor. Quality products are often hidden in the depths of refrigerators and refrigerated shelves. In the first rows are products that are nearing their expiration date.

3. At the checkout counters there are display cases with small items, which are a big problem not buying. Bright wrappers and candy wrappers attract the attention of not only adults, but also children, who literally force parents to buy useless products. Another “ambush” is located directly at the cashier: promotional items that are very difficult to ignore.

4. A great way to prevent yourself from being deceived is to make an accurate shopping list and a small amount. cash. Thanks to the treasured notes on a smartphone or on a traditional piece of paper, the likelihood of deception is reduced, even if during shopping the eye comes across a tempting offer of goods that are not needed at the moment.

5. Checking receipts is another way to protect yourself from fraud. With a large number of purchases, you may not be able to keep track of how the cashier is checking out not one, but several items of the purchased product at once. If you check that the grocery basket matches the items on the receipt, you can easily avoid dishonesty or forgetfulness of the cashier.

6. You need to check the change, as well as the payment amount if the purchase was paid by card. Often cashiers demand to pay again, complaining that the payment was not made. A notification on the phone will resolve the dispute and save you from hassle.

7. Inconsistency in price tags on goods is also often a trick. Not everyone will argue over a few rubles, so the trick works. If in doubt, you need to take a photo of the price tag or take it with you so that the hall employees do not have time to change them while watching the conflict flare up.

8. People often cheat in markets, so sellers hide scales, which often have additional weights. Every market should have check scales, and if in doubt, use them.

It is much easier to protect yourself from deception through observation and responsibility than to later deal with dishonest sellers.

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In general, the main initiators of this holiday are the Fair Trade social movement, which advocates fair standards for regulating most aspects international trade. Moreover, they purposefully contrast theirs with generally accepted ones, considering them unfair..

The essence of the movement

If we simplify the situation as much as possible, we get the following picture. Classical market economy does not take into account social, environmental and a number of other aspects in the price formation process.

There is, for example, a huge agro-industrial complex. Due to mass production, a conveyor system, the cheapest, but not at all environmentally friendly fertilizers and much more, he is able to maintain the price of each individual product at a minimum level, benefiting from quantity. The consumer actively buys, receiving something of average quality, but suitable.

And there is a farmer who monitors the environment, provides jobs, and uses normal fertilizers. And in order to remain “in the black”, he has to raise the price significantly higher than the minimum market price that is set by the already mentioned agro-industrial complex. And consumers are not particularly keen to buy something from him, because it’s expensive.

So, the main idea of ​​fair trade theory is that it is the farmer who is doing the right thing. That products must have a certain minimum price that would allow the farmer to survive without subsidies. And yes, this price can be significantly higher than the market price. And consumers, if they care about social justice, the environment and human rights, must understand and support this. Because it's fair.

For the same reasons, manufacturers from developing countries cannot compete with global corporations - their products will in any case be more expensive and of lower quality compared to similar products from large monopolists. And if there is no profit, how can developing countries develop? But no way. And it's not fair.

That is, in essence, “fair trade” is a type of protectionism, when the consumer is forced to pay more simply in order to take into account the many and varied interests of others.

So what of this?

Fortunately, there is always an alternative. You can buy products with a beautiful “Fair Trade” label, feeling that your money will really help grow your business, improve the environment and compensate for social injustice. Or you can ignore all this and act solely for reasons of personal need. This is rational, but not in the interests of a civil and socially conscious society.

In any case, it is better to know that every additional dollar spent on a fair trade product will benefit society than to overpay for a dubious “eco” prefix, which does not at all mean that the product is truly environmentally friendly.

But this trend will not reach our country soon. Although, frankly speaking, this would be really beneficial for us, as a developing economy. It would help to compete with Europeans in their markets.

And about all this, only more colorful, verbose and with concrete examples, and are told at numerous conferences and events held by the Fair Trade Organization on this day.

We also think you might be interested in what the world's leading economists are doing in the near future. To tell the truth, these forecasts are not very encouraging.

World Fair Trade Day

Every year on the second Saturday of May, the day is celebrated when the whole world rethinks the main principles of fair trade in a philosophical and practical way. Manufacturers and traders from different countries hold thematic business meetings, expositions and conferences. In 2019, the holiday is celebrated on May 11.

The noble “mission” of the holiday is to promote the principles of fair trade and honest business in accordance with international regulations. The main topics of condemnation are child labor, slave bondage, inflated prices and the destruction of ecosystems. Since ancient times, trade has been associated with fraud and deception.

It just so happens that the very concept of fair trade has an irrational meaning. However, in 1940 the commercialization of fair chain goods began. The organization “10 thousand villages” began to supply goods self made to developing countries. The product was more of a symbol confirming the donation.

By the mid-1980s, a new social movement called fair trade emerged. All products became subject to mandatory certification and labeling. A general motto was coined: “Fair trade is not aid.” The Fairtrade marking is evidence that eco-friendly raw materials were used in the production of the product, there was no release of chemicals into the soil, working conditions complied with international standards and child labor was not involved.

Products with a “fair label” are often more expensive than their analogues, but many consumers consciously prefer this category of products. Labeling allows you to track the entire commodity chain, from the origin of the product, production, delivery, to the act of purchase.

Fair trade principles: creating conditions for small and unprofitable companies to enter the market, absolute business transparency and a simple participation algorithm, fair price according to location, which covers the built-in cost and development costs, equality of men and women in the status of movement participants, humane working conditions.

The main group of goods are export products from third world countries. The product register includes: bananas, coffee, tea, honey, oranges, cocoa, fruits, vegetables, spices, nuts, wine and more. Manufacturing companies that adhere to fair trade laws label their products with a single mark. Manufacturer consolidation advocates labor, ethical, social and environmental standards. The organizer of the movement is the World Fair Trade Organization.

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In order to answer the question of what date is World Fair Trade Day in Russia, you should know what kind of holiday it is and when it is usually celebrated in other countries.

This significant day, as its name suggests, has an international status. The holiday is celebrated every year on the second Saturday of May. In 2020 it will be May 13. The whole month of May also falls under the fair trade umbrella. Various events are actively being held aimed at discussing modern economic problems from the angle of democratic and humanistic principles.

May 13, 2020 - Fair Trade Day

Fair trade is a social movement whose goals are to advocate international standards and public trade policy. Particular attention is paid to the production of goods in developing countries. In this case we're talking about on the prohibition of the use of slave and child labor. The World Fair Trade Organization also advocates environmental protection. Each year, a unique slogan is chosen for the holiday.

The World Fair Trade Organization has 350 organizations and 70 states. Some presenters Russian companies are also among the participants. In this regard, the Russian Federation also regularly celebrates Fair Trade Day together with the entire world community.

Traditionally, various events are organized on this day at different levels. Among these are international industrial exhibitions and economic seminars. Scientific conferences are also traditionally held. The goals of these events are to promote the principles of fair trade in various areas, both economic and social. Participating companies strive to achieve the formation in society of a negative attitude towards the exploitation of slave and child labor, as well as violations of environmental standards in the production process. Representatives of the organization have as their goal to bring trade turnover to the ideals of honesty, justice and democracy.

Despite the fact that the initiator of the creation of the holiday was public organization, he actively walks around the world. Many countries, even non-participating countries, provide various support for the organization of the event and provide various benefits to companies advocating fair trade.