What do you know about Fair Trade & Do you buy Fair Trade Products?

[Gregory]

What do you know about Fair Trade? Do you buy Fair Trade products? Why or Why Not?

[Gregory]

I believe that Fair Trade is one of the best initiatives in the world from several vantage points. I also believe that there is no such thing as "cheap." Every child deserves to be educated and every women deserves to be paid an equal wage for equal work. Fair Trade is Fair and respectful of individuals and the environment and they have high quality products. It also makes me feel good to support such projects. In our materials section we have some great info and ready made printable lesson info for teachers and some fun quizzes, word searchers and other easy to use information

Here’s what you’re supporting when you buy Fair Trade:

✓A fair price for products
For commodities, like coffee and cocoa, Fair Trade certifying organizations establish a fair price that guarantees farmers will be able to meet their living needs, with enough left over for them to improve their communities. The Fair Trade price always includes a “social premium” over conventional market prices.

✓ Empowerment and self-sufficiency
Fair Trade offers an alternative to small farmers who are at a disadvantage in the “free market”system. Transparency and accountability are basic principles of the Fair Trade model, and farmers have a voice in how their profits are used to benefit their communities. For example, many Fair Trade farmers belong to cooperatives or associations that are transparent and democratically controlled by their members. For other Fair Trade producers who work on larger plantations, Fair Trade provides revenue that is invested in a community fund that is managed and controlled by the farmers themselves.

“Arturo Jiménez Gómez works for Cooptrabasur,a Costa Rican banana cooperative formed by former Chiquita banana workers. “Before Fair Trade I was someone that took a box and loaded it onto a train,” he told the Fairtrade Foundation. “That was my only responsibility. I was just a farmer, an intermediary. In this new system, I have become an international businessman. … [I am] looked upon asa human being, not an object.”

✓ Investment in communities
Fair Trade producer groups reinvest their profits into strengthening their businesses and communities, building health clinics and schools,starting scholarship funds, building housing,providing leadership training, and establishing programs for women.

“A bite of Fair Trade chocolate means a lot to peasant farmers in the global South,” says Kwabena Ohemeng-Tinyase, the managing director of Kuapa Kokoo, a cocoa cooperative in Ghana. “It opens doors to development and gives children access to healthcare, education, and a decent standard ofliving.”

What’s more, importers of Fair Trade products establish direct, long-term, stable relationships with producer groups, guaranteeing that producers will continue to benefi t from Fair Trade for years. Producers don’t live in fear of losing their community’s livelihood. Fair Trade companies agree to respect and preserve the cultural heritage of their producer communities, and Fair Trade craft businesses help artisan producers fi nd markets for their traditional handicrafts, artwork, and apparel.

✓ Women’s participation To me this is one of the most important!!!
Fair Trade ensures that women are paid equally for their work. Additionally, premiums from Fair Trade production are invested back into the community and can mean improvements in women’s lives. Often these premiums are used for education and job training, giving women an opportunity to work outside their homes, an option that many didn’t have before. Fair Trade encourages women’s participation in and leadership of cooperatives. In fact, many of the Fair Trade craft producer groups that are members of the Fair Trade Federation are run entirely by women.

✓ Environmental sustainability
Fair Trade’s focus on what’s good for communities means that Fair Trade producers are encouraged to use environmentally friendly practices that preserve the health of the soil, air, water, and workers in the field.

Fair Trade certification ensures that farmers obey all internationally monitored environmental standards, while empowering farmers and farm workers with financial incentives and resources for organic conversion, reforestation, water conservation, and environmental education.