SBS Dateline | Fair Trade

Fairtrade is a buzzword of the western world… shoppers snap up products they see as giving farmers in the developing world a fair go, but how ethical are they really?

Dateline traces back the coffee and flowers on sale in Europe to the small producers of South America and Africa.

There’s no doubt the trade is providing employment in poor rural areas, but are the workers getting a fair deal from it?

And do the retailers benefiting from the popularity of Fairtrade really know what’s happening at the other end of chain?

WATCH - Apologies, but this report, narrated by Fran Tinley, is no longer available for copyright reasons.

FAIRTRADE RESPONSE - Read Fairtrade's full response to Dateline's story.

FAIRTRADE BACKGROUND - Find out more about the Fairtrade scheme and its principles.

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