After MUCH reading & MANY trips to dictionary.com, I now give you "Fair Trade in My Own Words"

Defined:
The social movement of fair trade is a concept applied to business relations, transactions, working conditions, etc in agriculture and manufacturing. Basically, the parties involved come together for trade in a way that meets certain demands of all parties. From what I can see, the main parties involved are:
1) end-user: public or consumer (mainly those involve in advocacy groups)
2) Seller/Distributor: businesses, corporations
3) Maker: farmer/manufacturer

Interdisciplinary Approach:
Fair trade encompasses issues raised in many areas of study including globalization, agribusiness, political consumerism, health and safety, environmental protection, sustainable materials/production, international relations, gender equality, child labor, and the mind-bender—world economics. (I think I will take an economics class next semester!!!)

Power of the Consumer:
In this era of globalization, consumers want to be guilt-free about consuming. The advocacy of buyers has prompted corporations to be more mindful of their products’ life cycle. The public wants to be assured no one is hurt before and after the product comes into their hands. This is due to the average joe’s growing awareness of his buying power. In other words, people are realizing that their dollars may be supporting agendas that conflict with his/her core values (political consumerism).

The Seller & Product:
As mentioned before, fair trade addresses all parties involved in the making, selling and purchasing of a product. So far, this practice has been applied to such widely used products as coffee, tea, chocolate, fruits and vegetables.
Fair trade is now becoming more “mainstream” because corporations are starting to advertise their participation. Considering which ones are doing this leads me to believe that fair trade is likely being used to clean up public perception of their brands. Another reason sellers are getting involved is because many consumers are willing to pay more for products that make them feel better about themselves. Regardless of consumer and corporate motives, the social movement benefits because corporations with household names (such as Walmart, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds) using fair trade products will actually shine more light on the practice of fair trade. Hopefully, this will prompt more consumers to ask: What is fair trade? How can I buy more fair trade products?