The first fair trade initiatives sprang up in the early 1970s in the framework of the development movement. Non-profit organisations based in countries in the global north (mainly European), started to import products originating from the global south and to market them outside the conventional commercial sector through world shops, charity shops and solidarity networks.

The Fairtrade label, operated by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO), was created so that fair trade products could be sold outside of these niche markets. Both types of fair trade continue to this day, and fair trade has grown since the 1970s into a multi-million pound trade.

There is no legal definition of fair trade, but it is generally used to mean a system of trade that supports disadvantaged producers by paying them an agreed, fair price plus an additional financial premium in many cases, providing market access, eliminating agents ('middlemen') as much as possible, building producer capacity and supporting them to meet minimum standards relating to children, women, working conditions and the environment.

There are two main international networks involved in the fair trade movement relating to textiles and garments:

Fairtrade labelled cotton: FLO, Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International www.fairtrade.net

One part of the FLO system sets Fairtrade standards for traders as well as for producers and provides producer support. The other part certifies that the FLO standards are met, which means the Fairtrade label can be applied to products. Organisations such as Max Havelaar, Transfair, the Fairtrade Foundation are part of the FLO system. In contrast to ethical trade, the Fairtrade label granted by FLO applies to specific products and not to whole company practices.

FLO launched a Fairtrade label for seed-cotton production in 2005. This does not guarantee Fairtrade standards throughout the whole of the garment supply chain, but just for the seed-cotton producers. The Clean Clothes Campaign recognises the real need to improve terms of trade and conditions faced by cotton farmers in the global souths and the dire conditions they often endure.

Both fair trade and mainstream brands and retailers sell Fairtrade labelled cotton clothing. In the case of the mainstream companies, Martin Hearson from Labour Behind the Label (the Clean Clothes Campaign platform in the UK) explains that these companies need 'to convince us that their commitment to workers' rights is real and that Fairtrade cotton is not just a fig leaf to cover the embarrassment of exploitation in their supply chains. We welcome these commitments to Fairtrade cotton and hope they will be accompanied by improvements in working conditions throughout the rest of these companies' supply chains'.

The following websites provide useful information about Fairtrade labelled cotton clothes:

www.labourbehindthelabel.org/resources/reports/20/index.php for Labour Behind the Label's view on Fairtrade.
www.cleanclothes.org/companies/max_havelaar.htm for information about Fairtrade cotton in the Swiss market
www.fairtrade.org.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2008/c/cotton_qanda.pdf for the Fairtrade Foundation's Q&A on Fairtrade cotton

IFAT, International Fair Trade Association www.ifat.org
This is a global network of organisations that seek to enable disadvantaged producers to improve their livelihoods and communities through fairer trade. Members of the network can include producer cooperatives, export companies, importers, retailers and individuals. Members' trading practices are monitored through self-assessment every two years against the IFAT's standards. Members share their self-assessment reports with trading partners for peer review and each year a percentage of members, chosen at random, have their self-assessment process verified by an external inspector. Standards include working conditions, child labour and the environment. There are a number of IFAT members involved in selling clothing.