Fair Trading
Fair Trade makes sense. Who doesn't want to be fair?
Fair Trade is essentially an alternative way to do economics, based on mutual respect instead of one party taking advantage over another. Fair Trade seeks to build bridges between consumers and producers by promoting transparency and accountability in the process of how goods are bought from farmers and producers in the developing world. Fair Trade ensures that producers receive a fair price for their goods, and are able to enjoy safe, humane working conditions. What could be wrong with that?
Unfortunately, much of the trade between developed and developing nations is, at present, the polar opposite of fair. Without Fair Trade, small farmers face a constant struggle to hold on to their land and their way of life. Things can be rough for employees in the developing world too. Exploitative wages, unstable commodity prices and poor, often unsafe, working conditions are all too common. Slave labor is even an issue - did you know that there are more slaves today than there were at the height of the trans-atlantic slave trade?!
By buying Fair Trade goods, you can send a signal to the world that it's time for a change. Instead of building resentments and pushing people apart, Fair Trade brings folks together. That can only be a good thing.
Warning: As awareness of Fair Trade rises, more companies are writing brochures with colorful farm photos and lots of talk about how fairly they treat farmers. Yet they offer no Fair Trade certification. No audited document trail. No third-party verification to show how much money actually made it back to the farmers or producers. Look for transparency and third-party accreditation. Also watch out for companies that sell one or two Fair Trade product lines, allowing themselves to talk about justice while their core business practices remain unchanged.
And it's growing. For more information, check out these sites:
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Fair Trade Federation is an association of Fair Trade wholesalers, retailers, and producers whose business are committed to trading fair. |
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Make Trade Fair Kind of the home page for the Fair Trade movement, this site is operated by Oxfam, a worldwide organization operating in over 100 countries to bring about economic and social justice. |
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Fair Trade Labeling Organization These guys are an umbrella organization that unites 20 labelling initiatives in 21 countries and producer networks representing Fairtrade Certified Producer Organizations in Central and South America, Africa and Asia. |
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Fair Trade Resource Network FTRN's goal is to fuel the movement by providing a space for education and dialogue around all issues relating to Fair Trade. |
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TransFairUSA This is a Fair Trade certification and promotional organization that certifies a document trail for coffee, cocoa, and fruit. TransFairUSA certifies only items, not entire businesses. We believe that TransFairUSA plays a critical role in the movement, however, we are concerned that its policy of certifying individual items undermines Fair Trade's potential as an equitable and sustainable alternative to globalization. Because of these concerns, Larry's Beans was among a group of 100% Fair Trade coffee roasters who left TransFairUSA in order to raise the bar on certification and transparency standards. (See our Fair Trade Proof section for more on this). We advocate a system modeled on USDA Organic and Forest Stewardship Counsel Certification; one in which TransFairUSA becomes the arbiter of Fair Trade practices and surrenders its role as an active certifier. This would create a single set of Fair Trade requirements, while opening up the possibilities for more stringent certification standards to ensure that companies actually do what they say they do. |
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Co-op America's Green Pages A great page to find anything organic and/or Fair Trade. |
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font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">SERRV International Home to A Greater Gift, this website gives consumers a chance to purchase and participate in Fair Trade and global change. |
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Global Exchange Fair Trade Store Buy fairly traded products, from chocolates to jewelry to sneakers (a great place to shop for gifts). |
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Canaan Fair Trade This Palestinian Fair Trade company not only offers delicious olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and other delicacies from 'the land of milk and honey', it also provides vital opportunities for a dignified income for farmers in this conflict-torn region. |
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Fair Trade Sports Everyone knows about Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate, right? But soccer balls... ?! It turns out that a lot of sports apparel and equipment is produced under questionable conditions, sometimes even using child labor. Fair Trade Sports believe that it's wrong for something intended for fun to cause so much misery, so they provide sweatshop-free sports equipment and clothing made by workers who are paid a living wage. |
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Etica Fair Trade Wines Wine is another commodity that we don't necessarily associate with Fair Trade, but we should. Many vinyard workers around the world are on terrible wages, and they are sometimes even just paid in reject wine. Alcohol dependence is high, and conditions are poor. Etica offers a just, fair alternative for the wine lover, and great wine to boot - cheers! |