Solidale Italiano: local fair trade in Italy

Italy is a genuine pioneer of North to North fair trade, but its story is peculiar. In 2010, after years of preparation, Altromercato the largest Italian fair trade organisation which includes 300 worldshops, launched the Solidale Italiano product line. It aims to offer products of Italian social cooperatives, first and foremost from Libera Terra.

This movement has fought the Mafia throughout southern Italy since 1995, among others by starting up agriculture projects on land that was confiscated from members of the Mafia.

The offer in the Italian worldshops is now broadened with local wine and olive oil, limoncello, passata and pommodori. Recently, the product range was extended with products from cooperatives that work with prisoners or teens who have lost their way and via a peace project in Bosnia with blueberry juice and jam. Many Italian worldshops commit to distributing local organic produce and contribute to the establishment of an alternative agricultural model in both the South and the North.

Read more about ‘Local fair trade in Belgium and Europe’ in the study of the Trade for Development Centre (Enabel).