PARCIC considers “Fair Trade” to be activities that connect peoples from all over the world with credible, sustainable, and equal relationship through trade and related economic activities.
The concept of Fair Trade developed as a challenge to solve the economic gap between the North and the South. We agree with the concept of fair trade which encourages economic autonomy of producers in the South, but at the same time, believe that Fair Trade should not be something that solidifies the current world trade structure where “the North buys products from the South.” PARCIC is seeking a broader perspective to overcome this North-biased structure. In India, people also see domestic sales as a form of fair trade. We think that cross-border trade, especially in agricultural products, should be mutually complimented by local recycling markets in each community. This should apply to Japan, India, and everywhere else in the world.
We comply with the 10 internationally agreed principles of Fair Trade. In addition, PARCIC values local production for local consumption of agricultural and fishery products to reduce Food Mileage, i.e: to lessen the burden of carbon emissions and environmental issues.
PARCIC is collaborating with coffee producers in Timor Leste and women from farming villages or victims of the civil war as well as Indian Tamils working in tea fields in Sri Lanka. The tea, coffee and other products produced by those people have to sold in the fair trade market so that they can earn profits to improve their livelihoods. In order to achieve this goal, PARCIC sells tea and coffee to Japanese consumers at a fair price. We assist them in selling dried fish, agricultural and fishery products to domestic markets in both countries, too.
Fair Trade links people to other people, social companies with cooperative associations, fair trade shops with sustainable, and builds ties of respect.
We call this network the “Solidarity Economy”. This Solidarity Economy is growing piece by piece in parts of Africa, Latin America, Europe and also here in Asia.