Fair Trade Shop

As an expression of international solidarity in practice, the Referat für Nachhaltigkeit (the AStA department of sustainability) regularly procures a small selection of fair trade products for sale in the AStA office (see here for office hours). We sell these products at the same price for which they were purchased, which means we aren’t making make a profit for them.

Fair trade products are those for which the producers in the Tricontinental countries receive payment above world market standards that will secure their existence. Depending on the type of certification, further social or environmental standards are also included.

Currently, many shops offer products that are declared to be “fair.” How fair are these products really, if they’re just “niche” products of larger producers who generate most of their profits conventionally? The same applies to sellers in Germany. How fair can a product really be if it’s sold by a discount store whose stock consists mainly of goods produced under questionable circumstances and whose employees are only paid the lowest of wages on limited contracts?

When it comes to the products we offer, we make sure the social and environmental circumstances are right. Our intermediary is currently the Café Libertadt Kollektiv in Hamburg (for more information, see www.cafe-libertad.de).