(1) Fair Trade: A Just World Starts with You | Benjamin Conard | TEDxSUNYGeneseo (2015)

In an earlier post in this blog series I already collected a couple of TEDx talks on ethical consumption. Three of the four speakers included in that post wholeheartedly believe in the impact it can have and make a plea to people to take their responsibility as consumers. The speaker in the talk on top of this post likewise believes in the power of consumer demand to realize a fair economy.. When he gave this talk, he was the Student Chair on the American National Steering Committee for Fair Trade Colleges & Universities and a Communications Intern for the World Fair Trade Organization.

2. Hope Through Fair Trade | Leti Bueno | TEDxSpeedwayPlaza (2016)

“Behind every fair trade product there is a story”, claims the speaker of this video, Leti Bueno. In this talk she shares some of those stories about hope, opportunities, human dignity and empowerment. Bueno is a Sales and Development associate for Ten Thousand Villages in Austin and a Fair Trade Ambassador with Catholic Relief Services.

(3) From the slave trade to fair trade; being inspired by the past | Bruce Crowther | TEDxLancasterU (2015)

In a blog post last year, titled Fair Trade is Based on an Unfair Division of Responsibilities, Wouter Mensink argued that the traditional Fair Trade movement puts the burden too much on the consumer and make it too easy for companies. He made a plea for the certification of spaces – such as Fair Trade Towns – instead of products. The speaker of the second talk acts as the International Fair Trade Towns Ambassador for the International Fair Trade Towns Steering Committee. He talks about how the past, in particular the fight to abolish slave trade, inspires him to seek justice today.

(4)Fair trade for smartphones: Gabriel Sebastian at TEDxMadrid (2013)

When thinking about Fair Trade, the image of coffee and bananas tends to spring to mind immediately. However, also advanced technological products may be designed and produced in a unfair or fair way. The last talk is by Gabriel Sebastian, one of the entrepreneurs behind the Fairphone initiative. The talk is in Spanish, but good English subtitles are available.

Books on this topic