Description
Artisans du Monde is a French network of fair trade shops run mostly by volunteers, selling crafts, food and cosmetics bought from more than 120 producer organisations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The first shop opened in Paris in 1974, and the federation was set up in 1981. It is a non-profit association, as are the local groups that run the shops: the federation counts 122 of them and more than 2,000 volunteers, with a handful of paid staff at national level. Besides selling, the groups run campaigns and school talks on fair trade, and the federation is a founding member of ATTAC.
About half the products carry the Max Havelaar (Fairtrade) label, which covers food. The others, mostly crafts, come from organisations guaranteed by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), which checks the whole organisation and not one product. The federation itself has been WFTO-guaranteed since 2016, and 37 % of the goods are imported through Solidar’Monde, its own WFTO-guaranteed buying office. Products are sold in more than 200 shops and outlets across France, and in an online shop.
Strengths
- Both the producers and the shops are checked under the WFTO system, not only the individual product.
- The shops are run by local non-profit associations, so the margin stays in fair trade work.
- The range of crafts, coffee, tea, chocolate and cosmetics suits gifts for most budgets.
Weaknesses
- The network depends on volunteers and has shrunk, from 154 local associations in 2010 to 122 today.
- Crafts travel a long way, often by sea, and the network publishes no figures on transport emissions.
- The federation’s own pages give different counts of associations and producer groups, so its figures are hard to follow.
Who it is for
People in France looking for gifts, coffee or chocolate whose makers were paid fairly, and who live near one of the shops or can order online.
Sources
- Artisans du Monde: home, how it works, guarantee, history, producer organisations (checked November 2026)
- Ipsos: Le commerce équitable, méconnu mais amené à se développer
- Politis: Il faut sauver Artisans du monde (2009)