Project history

In September 2021, various actors active in the fields of fair trade, agricultural production and distribution, and more broadly North-South solidarity, met to work together on a concept of fair trade at the local level.

Their thinking was based on two observations. First, among part of the population, particularly young people and those committed to climate protection, there is a decline in interest in issues of fair trade between the North and the South. 

This trend can be explained in part by increased attention to local production and short supply chains, which are considered more consistent with current environmental concerns.

Furthermore, the situation of farmers in our part of the world continues to deteriorate. Subject to the laws of the free market, they face increasing competition between domestic agricultural production and imported products. In this context, the demand for fair prices for their produce is a recurring theme and appears entirely legitimate. This demand is accompanied by a call for greater transparency on the prices charged at the distribution level. 

Environmental issues, social justice, and climate justice are sufficiently intertwined that we must question the relevance of maintaining a distinction between North/South fair trade and local, solidarity-based fair trade.

A qualitative approach 

Based on these findings, the working group commissioned a student, Liliane Schibli, to conduct a primarily qualitative and exploratory study through interviews with Swiss actors involved in fair trade, alternative agriculture, and the social and solidarity economy (SSE). The idea behind this study was to avoid imposing a definition ex nihilo, but rather to draw inspiration from European experiences and compare them with the Swiss context. The aim of this approach was to understand the values and differences of each group and to discuss the concept of "local fair trade" in Switzerland.

An assessment was therefore carried out among 27 Swiss organizations from the environmental, consumer, farming, social and solidarity economy, and fair trade sectors. These interviews were supplemented by a review of research conducted on this topic in Belgium, France, and Italy. The following points were among the conclusions drawn from the interviews with Swiss organizations:

• Initiatives that are closest to the principles and values of fair trade (particularly the integrated supply chain) do not identify with this term.
• Most of the groups surveyed simply did not know the difference between the CE for the integrated stream and that for the certified stream.
• The actors most committed to agroecological transition do not necessarily identify with the term "commerce" because their approaches seek to move away from the "commodification" of food.
• There is also a lack of processing and logistics channels.

Subsequently, a World Café was organized in Geneva on October 9, 2023. It brought together experts from the above-mentioned fields, who worked on topics such as the role of public institutions, the accessibility of products to the entire population regardless of financial means, and the development of criteria for local fair trade. This seminar and the working group's follow-up activities were made possible thanks to funding from the City of Geneva. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Agenda 21 team of the City of Geneva. 

The key insights from this World Café are as follows:

• Public authorities play a crucial role—raising awareness, providing subsidies, offering training, increasing budgets for institutional catering, supporting food processing projects, etc.
• Accessibility: it is essential that those on low incomes have access to high-quality food.
• Definition of criteria for a charter or declaration on local and solidarity-based works councils.

The working group therefore focused initially on this third element, defining criteria for a local and socially responsible CE declaration.

This statement was published in September 2024 and was the subject of a special issue of the Magasins du Monde newspaper. ex aequo in December 2024, and a press release was sent to the media in March 2025. It has been widely distributed to our various partners for reflection and debate.

Next steps in the project for 2025–2026

After this phase of reflection on the values shared by the various actors involved in agroecology in Switzerland and in the Global South, our goal is to begin a more operational phase. 

To continue the work begun in the first phase, we want to keep widely disseminating the declaration in order to contribute to a change in the narrative around food trade and to raise awareness of the importance of fairness in consumer-producer relationships. 

At the same time, we want to take a more concrete approach and engage in reflection with stakeholders in sustainable food chains, thinking together about how local fair trade can support economic models that promote greater resilience.