Web marketplace a la ’Fair Trade’ movement

The Fair Trade movement of marketing goods from underdeveloped countries and regions serves as a model for a webmarket place to be launched by the Hungarian Solidarity Club to support underprivileged people in Hungary.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated every year on October 17. This year, the day has been chosen by the Hungarian Solidarity Club to launch the Hungarian version of the worldwide Fair Trade movement. The president of the Club, Bernadett Polai is of the view that it has been long overdue in Hungary to start a civilian initiative like this as it is necessary that people be socially conscious when purchasing different goods to help fellow Hungarians in need.

The web marketplace (available at www.webvasarter.com) is meant to strengthen socially conscious purchases. Polai says this movement may – on the long run – have appositive effect to ease social tension, reduce expenditure by the state budget and even the tax burden.

At the web site, you can only find goods made by people disadvantaged on the job market, like people with low education level, single women with children, partially disabled, those of ill health, of Roma origin, long-term unemployed, residents in disadvantaged regions and municipalities, young people at risk, etc. Producers may upload information about their products to the web site from which people can buy directly. The web marketplace program comes about in the framework of ‘2010 – European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion’.