Fair Trade for Social Justice and a Sustainable Future
I’m a coffee snob.
I buy only organically grown coffee, I always buy locally roasted coffee, and I only buy Fair Trade coffee.
Why?
Coffee is a luxury item, imported from far away and grown (usually) through the exploitation of the people and environment that produce it. Exploitation of humans and of the Earth really clashes with my worldview. I believe in sustainability in all things, cooperation and mutual benefit in business, and in the universal human rights to clean air, clean water, and clean food.
By choosing organic and Fair Trade, I know that when I stumble out of bed and head to the kitchen to start my coffee, I’m also choosing to support the people and principles that I stand behind.
I buy organic, because organic agriculture has the potential to restore our soil and water to health, it’s how nature intended, and because organically grown food just tastes better. I buy Fair Trade products because fair wages and environmental sustainability are important to me.
What is Fair Trade, you ask?
Fair Trade Principles:
- A fair price: A living wage is the goal. Farmers receive a guaranteed minimum price, and may get an extra premium for growing certified organic products. Prices and wages are fair and livable in the local context.
- Safe workplace: Forced child labor is prohibited. Workers are free to form their own democratically run associations and participate in decisions affecting them.
- Cut out the middleman: Importers deal directly with the producers or their association, taking out the extra expense of a third party to the transaction.
- Transparency and accountability: With independent third-party audits and certification, you can be assured that the products you buy comply with Fair Trade principles.
- Community development: Fair Trade farmers and workers invest their Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects, such as scholarships, training, and organic certification. Strong communities means means farmers can feed their families and their children can go to school (instead of working in the fields).
- Preservation of cultural identity: Fair Trade products can support the social benefits of traditional forms of production to communities, enabling more farmers and craftsmen to continue with their way of life.
- Sustainability: Harmful agricultural chemicals and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are strictly prohibited. Environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect the health of the farmers and preserve ecosystems for the future are key to Fair Trade production.
Certification of Fair Trade products is through organizations such as TransFair USA, the Fair Trade Federation, the International Fair Trade Association, and the Fair Trade Foundation. Producer networks in Africa, Asia, and Latin America join Fair Trade farmers for better representation and opportunities.
The Fair Trade products currently on the market are coffee, cocoa (and chocolate), sugar, bananas, tea and herbs, rice, honey, vanilla, and cut flowers. Some Fair Trade handicrafts are available (Ten Thousand Villages stores), and cotton, beer, and wine are certified in Europe.
The next time you have a choice, choose social justice and sustainability.
Choose Fair Trade.
Image: Nuuuuuuuuuuul on Flickr under Creative Commons
