"But the farmers and producers (almost all in the developing world) who send their goods to us with fair trade labels represent only a portion of the number of farmers and producers wanting to join the network of international trade in fair and environmentally-responsible goods."
-Sarah Rich-
Sarah Rich over at Worldchanging explores the latest on the fair trade front. What's new? The Finance Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST) has recently launched. FAST's objective is to simplify and centralize access to capital and resources for farmers who want to build sustainable sustainability businesses. That objective is complemented by FAST's plan to demonstrate that financing sustainable production is a valid and valuable proposition for commercial banking institutions.
Check out the Sustainable Food Lab for more background on this new, and important, organization (FAST's current web site is sparse; SFL has some more robust information).