Fair trade promotion through socially responsible public procurement

Abstract

Economy and ethics are closely bound and entwined from birth. In fact, economy as a social science has an unquestionable moral side that must be taken into consideration. One of its most noticeable aspects has precisely been the fair trade movement, understood not only as a gesture of solidarity but also as an alternative commerce, ultimately based on responsible consumption. This aim has found recent support and promotion by positive public action, specifically by means of regulating and implementing ethical public purchase. In this sense, public procurement represents a suitable means for ulterior objectives. Thus the importance and necessity of assessing actual possibilities, both political and legal, offered by the Spanish legal system for the introduction of valid criteria directing public procurement towards responsible consumption, global awareness of our life style and more transparent and ethic economic exchange.