The United States represents five percent of the world’s population and consumes 25 percent of the world’s resources. Since there is a high demand for consumption of resources in the U.S., the global market has lowered their standards on wages, safety conditions and, in hopes of conserving those resources for future generations and improving the livelihoods of farmers around the globe, the Fair Trade movement was created.
According to fairtradecertified.org, “Today’s global market enables — often encourages — compromise at the expense of farmers, workers and fishermen. People stand with [this movement] to demand higher standards for everyone.”
How it works:
There are thousands of Fair Trade products on the market including coffee, tea, chocolate, grains, apparel and more. Through a certification process for products, fair trade seeks to improve economic development through fair trading and production partnerships. Third-party certifiers develop standards with frequent audits to ensure standards are met. This way, consumers can be assured that the products they use are grown, crafted and traded to protect the environment and the producers. According to the standards development and revision procedure by Fair Trade, the procedure ensures transparent standards to allow opportunity for engagement in line with the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling (ISEAL) Code of Good Practice for setting social and environmental standards. The primary certifiers in the U.S. are Fair Trade USA, Fairtrade America and IMO’s Fair for Life label.
What it does:
Through fairtrade, workers are guaranteed a minimum price for their products and may even include bonuses or premiums if the product is certified organic or has other purity certifications. Labor conditions for these certified products are guaranteed to be in a safe work environment without any forced labor or poor wage practices. This certification allows direct import purchases to develop business capacity and eliminate the need for competition in the global marketplace. Environmentally, GMOs and harmful agricultural chemicals are strictly prohibited to protect workers’ health and preserve ecosystems for future use.
Additionally, Fair Trade premiums support a wide variety of social and economic endeavors. Most importantly, the right to education and empowerment of young adults and women around the world.There are many other countries around the world that use these premiums to ensure public good and community engagement. According to the Fair Trade Campaigns website, four countries use the purchase premiums to support education by buying school uniforms, textbooks, computers,and other school supplies. In Ghana, the Kuapa Kokoo cocoa cooperative used these premiums to build four schools and daycare centers for the community children.
How to buy:
Reports from fairtradecertified.org, shows consumers are prioritizing sustainability now more than ever, with 58 percent of consumers more likely to try products from environmentally sustainable companies.
To identify fair trade products it is important to pay attention to the packaging. There are two common labels for fair trade products. The first is the FLO label or the Fairtrade Labelling Organization, is identical to the ying yang symbol but represents a person with an arm raised with a green section on the left and blue on the right. The Fair Trade USA label depicts a person holding a large bowl with a green, black and white color scheme.
To search for products that are specifically Fair Trade visit www.fairtradecertified.org/products to explore desired products.
How it protects:
Global Climate Change has affected farmers and other commercial production by increased droughts, diseases, carbon emissions and other environmental issues.In order to benefit from Fair Trade incentives, they must meet a variety of environmental stands such as biodiversity, limited and safe use of agricultural chemicals as well as soil, pest and waste management.
Fair Trade works specifically with protecting products with large consumption use such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, sugar or tea. Through premium payments for fair trade certifications, farmers can spend time and money on environmental education, training, equipment efficiency and quality testing to ensure a good harvest for crops.
This movement is an important economic and environmentally sustainable practice to ensure future generations can enjoy these natural resources and promote workers right in domestically and internationally. The Fair Trade certified website reported that millennials outpace all other generations in their desire for Fair Trade certified products. Since this generations attitudes are centered toward socially responsible and environmentally friendly companies and products, it provides incentive for companies to be environmentally friendly. This is not only better for the environment but better for people on a global scale.
