What Is Fair Trade All About Anyways?

You see it on numerous food labels at the store, a little white sticker that seems to add a little more credibility to the product you may be about to buy. “Fair Trade” and “Fairly Traded” products are becoming all the rage for consumers who can afford to pay the extra dollars and cents. But what exactly are you getting from a “Fair Trade” product that you couldn’t get from a brand such as Folgers or Hershey’s?

I’m a person who doesn’t learn too well from statistics and analytical language, so instead of giving you the academic low down behind fair trade, I’m going to tell you a story.

Eduardo is a coffee farmer from Nicaragua, whose only source of income is from the green coffee beans he produces for Folgers, the coffee company he’s contracted with to receive less than fifty cents for every pound of raw coffee. While Folgers gets to pocket 1 Billion dollars in yearly sales, Eduardo must make do with less than 300 dollars. The way that Folgers cares for the quality of it’s coffee is also noteworthy, with beans that are poorly sorted and mass roasted, then left in storage houses to grow stale before getting shipped off to North American grocery shelves.

Ruben is a farmer in Guatemala, directly contracted with a fair trade certified coffee business that pays him 3 dollars a pound for top quality coffee beans. He is part of a local co-op supported by the company, allowing for him and other farmers to have democratic rule over their farming practices, and gives them resources to promote community development, such as schools and hospitals. The coffee that is finally produced and packaged by this company is sorted with care, making sure that no withered or broken beans taint the aromatic quality of the final product. The beans then get roasted in small batches that are carefully tended to roasted perfection. The end result is a well supported farmer, an empowered community, and one heck of a good cup of coffee.

The flame of Fair Trade is quickly becoming a wild fire in international business, with certification now being extended to a wide variety of products. Though prices and trade procedures vary, the common thread among all Fair Trade businesses is that we desire for farmers and crafts people to have their quality work recognized and paid for what it is. Exploitation does little more than rob workers of motivation and livelihoods. Eduardo and his family deserve more. Nepali crafts people deserve more.

So when you go shopping next, whether in the store or online, be on the look out for that cool little symbol that gives you the promise of purchasing justice along with a high quality product. In my personal opinion, the extra dollars are well worth the economic justice you’re buying for the person behind the product.