Business Resources

Opening a Fair Trade Business

FTF members are often willing to share their experiences with new fair trade entrepreneurs. To address frequently asked questions, FTF initiated a series of briefs in 2007 (with more to follow):

• Starting a Fair Trade Internet Business by Megy Karydes, Founder, World-Shoppe.com - New!
• Six Keys to Starting a Fair Trade Retail Store by Brian Smucker, Co-Founder, Baksheesh 
• Incorporating your new Fair Trade organization…for-profit or non-profit?  by Scott James, Founder, Fair Trade Sports, and Nathan George, Co-Founder, Trade as One 
• To Drop Ship or Not to Drop Ship: Advice for Wholesalers by Kevin Ward, President, Global Crafts
• Growing a Wholesale Business with Integrity by Bob Chase of SERRV International and Kevin Ward of Global Crafts
• Strengthening a New Retail Operation by Brian Smucker of Baksheesh and Tony Hall of Hall-Wray Consulting
• Leading the Media to Your Business by Megy Karydes of Karydes Consulting

The Fair Trade Resource Network’s Guide to Starting Successful Retail Business also offers insight into the elements of creating a fair trade retail operation and includes examples, such as a start-up budget.

Have questions you would like answered? Visit the Ask the Experts section or contact FTF.

Plan Your Organization

Starting a fair trade organization requires the same skills as opening any business. Visit the following general resources for advice:

• Small Business Association’s Small Business Planner
• Introduction to Starting a Business  or 501(c) 3 from the Internal Revenue Service
• JumpUp.com - A free website from the makers of QuickBooks that advises new businesses on how to get up and running.
• Entrepreneur.com’s How To Start a Business – Advice on starting your own business
• USAID Small Business Resource Center – The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and Minority Resource Center acts as a small business advocacy and advisory office with the responsibility for ensuring that these enterprises receive access to USAID programs.
• USAID’s FRAME Initiative for Natural Product Information Sharing - An online portal for the natural resources management community with publications, online discussions, and the chance to share your knowledge with the network.
• Management Library – Library of 650+ topics covering the leadership and management of for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations.
• AllBusiness.com – An online resource that helps business professionals addresses business questions by offering resources, articles, example forms, contracts and agreements, expert advice, blogs, business news, business directory listings, product comparisons, business guides, and more.

Work with an Established Fair Trade Organization

Get your feet wet with an established fair trade business:

• Franchise a Ten Thousand Villages Store – Learn about joining the oldest and largest chain of fair trade stores in North America
• Jolica Fair Trade Consultant – Jolica home-based fair trade businesses offer individuals a chance to earn income and support artisans at the same time.
• Pachamama Fair Trade Consultant – Make the commitment to spread the word about fair trade, while earning commissions from your total sales.
• Visit the Fair Trade Job Board to see what fair traders are hiring.

Find Suppliers

New businesses can

• Source from members of FTF,
• Work directly with producer groups, or
• Find producers from the International Fair Trade Association.

Note: FTF is not responsible for any content available on third-party sites, nor do the views expressed on these or other sites necessarily represent the views of the Fair Trade Federation.