Worldshops , world shops or Fair Trade Shops are specialized retail outlets offering and promoting Fair Trade products. Worldshops also typically organize various educational Fair Trade activities and play an active role in trade justice and other North-South political campaigns.
7-681: Worldshops are often not-for-profit organizations and run by locally based volunteer networks. Although the movement emerged in Europe and a vast majority of worldshops are still based on the continent, worldshops can also be found today in North America , Australia , Israel and New Zealand . The start of the movement is usually attributed to the first worldshop in Europe, which was founded by Oxfam in 1959. The Oxfam shop sold Chinese bric-a-brac that had been sourced from Chinese refugees that had escaped
14-426: A NPO as they are not formed explicitly for the public good as an NPO must be, and NFPOs are considered "recreational organizations", meaning that they do not operate with the goal of generating revenue as opposed to NPOs. An NFPO does not have the same obligation as an NPO to serve the public good, and as such it may be used to apply for tax-exempt status as an organization that serves its members and does not have
21-437: Is a legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. An NFPO does not earn profit for its owners, as any revenue generated by its activities must be put back into the organization. While not-for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (NPO) are distinct legal entities, the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. An NFPO must be differentiated from
28-654: The Communist revolution to Hong Kong . However, some sources credit the first fair trade shop that had been opened in the US in 1958, selling Puerto Rican needlework. The shops were not called worldshops at that time, however. Alternative trading organisations imported various third world goods, such as cane sugar starting in the 1960s, and still continuing today. These goods were sold in "third world shops" or "developing country shops" (the actual name differing from country to country). The most active organisations were operating in
35-662: The United Kingdom and the Netherlands . The term "worldshop" came into existence in the 1990s. In 1994, worldshops organised themselves under the auspices of NEWS, the Network of European Worldshops , who now falls under the World Fair Trade Organization . The Fairtrade label, which is used on fair trade products, has its roots in the 1980s worldshop movement. Worldshops' aim is to make trade as direct and fair with
42-586: The goal of generating profit. An example of this is a sports club , which exists for the enjoyment of its members and thus would function well as an NFPO, with revenue being re-invested into improving the organization. These organizations typically file for tax exemption in the United States under section 501(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code as social clubs. Common ventures for which NFPOs are established include: Charities, as NFPOs, function under
49-406: The trading partners as possible. Usually, this means a producer in a developing country and consumers in industrialized countries. The worldshops' target is to pay the producers a fair price that guarantees subsistence and positive social development. They often cut out any intermediaries in the import chain. Not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization ( NFPO )
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