Things We Gift: Part 2 - Fair Trade

A friend of mine who teaches at a local elementary school was telling me about a presentation she had made about Fair Trade to her faculty in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season. I had heard of the term before but didn’t know exactly what it meant. So I dug a little bit deeper and found an overwhelming amount of information. Though I’ve only gone through a small percentage of the sources that cover Fair Trade, I’m starting to get a clearer picture on how it is tied to our global economy and how it has an effect on me as a consumer.

So what exactly is Fair Trade?

According to Wikipedia: Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers.

Basically, it questions whether producers such as farmers or craftsmen and craftswomen are getting a fair shake when they sell their goods. Although it takes a look at not only what they are paid but also environmental sustainability, the mainstream focus is on making sure the producers get a fair cut of the premiums.

Why is it important?

As a consumer, I never really thought about the means it took for a product to get into a store and then finally purchased by myself until recently. I would read headlines about unfair working conditions, wages, and things of that sort, but I thought ‘Hey, I’m on a budget. I’m not wealthy. If a comparable product is cheaper at say, Walmart, then I’m going to buy it there.’ But deep down, I know that’s not the right mentality. From watching the Vanguard episodes on the negative effects of globalization, to my previous post on the Congo, to researching for this post, I’ve learned there is such a need for us to be smarter knowledgeable consumers.

So are there a couple of mainstream companies that are stepping up to the plate?

Starbucks, the world’s number one coffee purveyor announced last year that it would double the amount of Fair Trade Certified coffee that they purchase. This would make them the largest buyer in Fair Trade coffee, purchasing a projected 40 million pounds for this year. Kudos for stepping up to the plate! Hopefully Walmart will follow suit in regards to their gold jewelry. Big corporations cannot hide from the fact that how they conduct business has an effect that goes beyond their profits and affects how their consumers contribute to globalization.

And just earlier this week, Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company, will start certifying KitKat bars sold in the U.K. and Ireland as Fair Trade starting in January. This follows Cadbury’s footsteps who started producing mass market Fair Trade chocolate this year. Double kudos.

Although these are huge milestones, there is still a long road ahead. And while I applaud these companies for taking these first few steps, there is still heavy criticism on when they will extend Fair Trade Certification to all their products. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

So what can you do as a consumer?

The obvious is to purchase Fair Trade products. I'm not saying spend money on Fair Trade products just to spend on money on them, especially in this economy. But being conscious of the things we already buy and taking the initiative to choose Fair Trade products when looking for alternatives is realistic.

Here are some resources which I found very informative and useful:

Fair Trade, Wikipedia

FairTradeFederation.org

Where To Buy Fair Trade Certified Products, TransFairUSA.org

TenThousandVillages.com – A site where you can purchase Fair Trade jewelry and crafts

For videos that help to explain globalization and the global economy, visit the Vanguard page on Hulu.com an take a look at ‘Outsourcing Unemployment’ and ‘Battle of Saipan’

-Rae is a blogger for The Daily Vine. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.

Source/Related Articles

Nestle to Make Fairtrade KitKats in U.K., Ireland, Bloomberg.com

Fair Trade vs. Starbucks, OrganicConsumers.org