When worker co-ops do engage in international trade, moreover, they favour fair trade over free trade. There are examples in Canada including Just Us! and La Siembra, and overseas, such as India’s Self Employed Women’s Association. As Fairtrade America notes, “fair trade helps businesses source products that are ethically and sustainably produced while giving consumers confidence that the people behind the products they buy get a fair deal for their hard work.” And having this confidence is important to many consumers. A recent study found that 9 in 10 (88%) of global consumers surveyed would choose to buy from companies with ethical sourcing structures in place over ones that lacked such structures.
But in order for consumers to make an informed decision, the distinction between worker co-ops and traditional businesses when it comes to ethical sourcing must be made more evident. As the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives observes “Canada has the weakest disclosure rules of virtually any major developed country. Companies engage in ‘jurisdiction shopping’ to register in the province with the least transparent reporting requirements. However, the current Canadian Free Trade Agreement gives them access to the entire Canadian market, encouraging a regulatory ‘race to the bottom’.”
Read the rest at Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation
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