Europe is seeing a quickly growing market in fair trade goods, which is obviously a good thing. Last year saw a very impressive increase in fair trade purchases.

“In Austria alone, between 2004 and 2005 there was an increase of 63 percent in the sales of “Fair Trade” items, so labelled because they are supposed to come from a production chain that respects the environment, workers’ salaries and labour rights, as part of a process that promotes social development.”