Tzedakah and Fair Trade

The medieval Jewish thinker, Maimonides, says that we should care more about the mitzvah of tzedakah (charity) than any other positive mitzvah. He listed the Talmud’s 8 levels of tzedakah starting from the least honorable to the most honorable as follows:

1. Giving begrudgingly
2. Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully.
3. Giving after being asked
4. Giving before being asked
5. Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
6. Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
7. Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
8. Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant **

** Considering the highest level of tzedakah, we can invest time and money for those in need, to ensure them safety and economic self-sufficiency. One of the many ways listed above is to buy fair trade goods. When you buy a fair trade item, you are paying a fair price for something made under responsible environmental and social standards while giving an otherwise marginalized producer equal standing in international trade.

What else is Jewish about Fair Trade?