Ctm altromercato was set up in Bolzano in 1988 with the aim of providing solutions to tackle the economic disparity between the North and South of the world. In 1998 the original cooperative Ctm (Cooperativa Terzo Mondo - Third World Cooperative) became a consortium, focusing its action on development of the network of fair trade organisations, fair economy activities with the South of the world and political and cultural activity to promote fair economy.

"...The Consortium acknowledges a strong vocation with regard to the disadvantaged populations of the developing countries which constitute the main target of the economic action and is indissolubly linked to cooperation with the small producers in the developing countries.This cooperation embodies the philosophy of the Fair Trade movement, which provides an alternative to the traditional form of charitable aid present in many international cooperation initiatives … The Consortium recognises the Worldshops as the organisation representing and promoting the development of fair trade in the territorys in the developing coumntries.triesural activity to èpromoye fair economy. ersities.. They constitute the priority channel for distribution of the fair trade products and promotion of ethical financing. The Consortium aims to be an active part of a social economy based on the principles of justice, sustainability and cooperation”. From article 2 of the Statute of the Consortium – Company purpose.

At the beginning of the eighties fair trade was practically non-existent in Italy. There were only two Worldshops in the Alto Adige region, one in Bolzano and one in Bressanone, which purchased products from other European countries where fair trade was already consolidated. While studying economy in Innsbruck, Rudi Dalvai, one of the founder members of the Bolzano Worldshop, came into contact with Eza, the Austrian fair trade import centre. After graduating, Rudi returned to Bolzano with the desire to promote fair trade in Italy. In 1986 the meeting between Rudi, Heini Grandi and Antonio Vaccaio took place. It was the latter who coined the term “commercio equo e solidale” (Italian for fair trade).

In 1987 the three founded a first organisation, a general partnership, but they immediately realised that this was not the most appropriate legal status and that a more collective form was required.

On 21st December 1988 the Ctm cooperative was set up with nine founder members, 3 workers and 6 shops (Rudi Salvai, Heini Grandi and Antonio Vaccaio as workers, shops in Bolzano and Bressanone, together with Pace e Sviluppo in Treviso, Solidarietà in Rovato, Tortuga in Padua and Coop in Turin). In these initial stages decisions were taken that were to give Ctm its distinctive characteristics. In fact, it was decided not to follow the example of the European centres, which acted as independent importers selling to the shops which were considered simply as clients. The decision was to invest in the creation of an operating structure that offered services to the Worldshops, whose job was to promote fair trade throughout the territory, i.e. a cooperative. In addition, in the initial phase great importance was given to the function of the workers who undertook the role of guarantors of the project, actively participating in the decisions as members. Ctm expanded at the beginning of the 90s, not only in operational terms but also as a network, with fifty or so members.

In July 1997, after a long period of discussion with the Worldshops, the decision was taken to promote the fair trade products via additional channels: organic shops, wholesale stores, groceries and large-scale retail outlets.

In the meantime the debate continued on the structure and internal organisation of the Cooperative. Between 1997 and 1998 there was a rethink on the role of the shops and that of the Ctm, culminating in the creation of a legal body to meet the new needs: the Consortium. This represented an important turning point in the composition of the members. In the Ctm Cooperative the workers could be members as individuals, whereas now with the establishment of the Consortium this was no longer possible. In fact, after almost 10 years the situation had radically changed. The growth in the number of shops and the principle of “one vote for each organisation” was no longer compatible with the existence of members as individuals. The Consortium was therefore set up as “Consorzio di Botteghe del Mondo” on 28th June 1998.

The switch from cooperative to consortium guaranteed broad participation of the Worldshops, with a positive development in terms of professionalism and services which Ctm was now able to offer due to its greater resources, thus stepping up quality for its members.

From 1998 to 2004 there was an unprecedented increase in turnover and the number of members grew from about fifty to almost 150 in six years. Cooperation with the producers also increased, involving 150 groups.

Today Ctm altromercato is the main Italian fair trade organisation and also plays an important role on the international scene. It has accompanied many producers along the path of development and has proved to be a concrete source of employment also in Italy.