^Slight difference, though. Most people use them interchangeably. Fair-trade basically just assures that farmers can't get paid less than a minimum price but doesn't negotiate for more. With direct-trade, you pay a premium price above the stated fair-trade price. But, of course, you negotiate with the farmers to make sure that if they want to get paid a premium, they better have the best quality product. This is most often the case with coffee.