Please tell me what is 'Fair Trade'?

Hello,

Ok answers to me please at rachel@rachelwatkyn.com the question is; What is Fair Trade?
Now before you click the link and rave on to me about fair wages and working conditions for people who can be/are exploited in the poorer parts of our world and how 'fair trade is giving these people...' etc etc

Is that really what Fair Trade is?

Let me explain; I founded Tiny Difference last year with the sole intention of being completely fair trade. From the silver we use (we get it directly from the Ghanaian government as it is impossible to know if any mines are completely ethical) to the workers having a fair wage (each of my workshops in Africa is IFAT registered) to even giving 20% profit back into the poorer areas to help them become self-sustaining.
Now dear reader I am perplexed for I am reading and hearing people bandying 'fair trade' in regards to almost everything these days (see my previous 'soap' rant on this blog).

Is my interpretation of this 'fair trade' thing incorrect... am I to take it that fair trade can be used in any country that gives it's workers a fair wage and fair working conditions, UK and US included? Now I am not having a go or trying to get a reaction from you, merely asking a simple question. If I pay my workers here in the UK £7.00 an hour for their labour can i say that my UK operation is fair trade? If I pay my African workers $1.00 a day is that fair trade?

I know that a recognised Fair Trade body is in operation for coffee and foodstuffs and they are extending it to include other products. Will they be able to label my other company Tiny Box Company fair trade?

What exactly constitutes 'fair trade'?

Rachel