why fair trade

Why Fair Trade? Environmental Efforts

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Post title over outdoor scene of blue sky, greenery and dirt road

In our series Why Fair Trade?, we aim to illustrate the main reasons why supporting fair trade is important to us. Today Laura explains the environmental benefits of choosing fair trade.

I see so much beauty on this earth, and I want it to flourish. People are beautiful, too, so I want us to experience this beauty for generations to come. Fair trade calls for environmental efforts that will improve the lives of workers in both the short- and long-term, and that has an equal standing with other ethical principles that benefit workers.

In my young adult years, I went on an organic food kick that, to this day, I still practice as often as possible. I also do the usual eco-friendly things like recycling and purchasing post-consumer paper goods, used books, and reusable/biodegradable items. So when I first started looking into fair trade, I was gratified to find out that most companies and labeling organizations include environmental stewardship criteria for businesses. Far beyond the simple measures we can all try at home, some examples of environmental practices that fair trade companies may follow are:

  • No GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms)
  • Specific toxic chemicals not used
  • Waste management through reuse and recycling
  • Water and energy conservation
  • Reduced greenhouse gases
  • Organic or reduced pesticide use

My aunt, who owns a small eco press in British Columbia, shared with me her thoughts on sustainability and fair trade. She wrote to me in an email, “The best a company can do, in my opinion, is constantly question both the environmental and economic impact that they are making by offering their product to consumers. Not only question but constantly make strides to improve their footprint.” Fair trade companies, along with my aunt’s press, aim to do their best to keep the impact on the environment low in whatever means possible.

One of my favorite tea companies—for both quality of tea and quality of ethical standards—Choice Organic Teas, explains in their “Why Organic?” section that they seek organic sourcing for benefits like improved soil fertility, better for wildlife, and safer for humans. They say, “How could we be anything other than organic?” because the alternative has negative effects on nature and people.

The Fair Trade Federation’s principle states, “Fair Trade seeks to offer current generations the ability to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Well said.

We care about the health of the people who work to grow and make our products. As much as we hope they have access to medical treatment and good safety measures on the job, we also don’t want them to be exposed to toxins either directly or indirectly. We don’t want them to be harmed by chemicals, or have their clean water wasted or polluted, or lose farmland that can no longer be cultivated. Practicing environmental stewardship is a critical issue, one that these small businesses are admirably attempting to put into place and improve upon over time.

Why Fair Trade? No Forced or Child Labor

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Over the last few months I’ve been sharing some of the reasons why I support fair trade. One principle of fair trade that is very important to me is the prohibition of forced and child labor.

Millions of people worldwide are forced to work against their will and without proper pay. This is called human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery. Trafficking is present in a variety of sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, domestic servitude, the sex industry. Some estimates put the number of enslaved people worldwide at 30 million.

One of the first avenues through which I learned about human trafficking was International Justice Mission. Their accounts of entire families being enslaved in brick kilns for years have stuck with me since I first heard them.

It boggles me that any form of slavery still exists today. I think a lot of people are unaware of human trafficking, and if they are aware, they assume that businesses make sure they don’t have slaves working for them. However, most businesses do not do the rigorous monitoring that is required to identify and eliminate forced labor from their supply chains.

Fair trade does what we assume all businesses do.

This is another case where fair trade is doing what we would expect all businesses to do. In fair trade, all workers are working voluntarily and are being paid fairly. Beyond that, fair trade stipulates that workers should be free from physical and verbal abuse, harassment and discrimination. (My reference point for fair trade standards is the Fair Trade Federation’s principles. Other certifications have similar standards that may be phrased differently.)

Fair trade also puts a special emphasis on the rights of children. While many children worldwide work to help support their families, fair trade requires that children’s work not interfere with their safety, education or need to play. Fair trade producers must disclose when children are involved in production and must adhere to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Having been part of an anti-trafficking organization for several years, I’ve heard many accounts from former trafficking victims about the hopelessness they felt while being trafficked. Fair trade offers an alternative of hope—a way to provide for one’s family in an environment of safety and respect. Fair trade doesn’t just prohibit slavery; it provides economic opportunities so people are less at-risk for becoming enslaved.

To learn more about human trafficking, I recommend checking out International Justice Mission and the Not For Sale Campaign.

Why Fair Trade? Paying Fairly

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Why Fair Trade? Paying Fairly. Fair trade felted fox.

I can’t get enough of this little guy I saw at the conference!

In our series Why Fair Trade?, I aim to illustrate some of the main reasons why supporting fair trade is important to me. Today we’re going to explore the fair trade principle of paying fairly.

At first, the term “paying fairly” by itself sounds great. Who wouldn’t agree that everyone should be paid fairly for their work? But if you think about it a little longer, the question arises: what does “paying fairly” actually mean?

Here is a summary of the Fair Trade Federation’s guidelines for paying promptly and fairly:

  • Empower producers to set prices based on the true costs of labor, time, materials, and sustainable growth
  • Comply with or exceed international, national, local, and, where applicable, Fair Trade Minimum standards
  • Equal pay for equal work by women and men
  • Ensure prompt payment to all partners
  • Offer producers access to interest-free advance payment or pre-financing with favorable terms

Fair traders also work to ensure that producers are paid a living wage that enables them to meet their basic needs.

I got a taste of the complexity of determining fair prices and wages in a session at the Fair Trade Federation conference last week. As described by Karen Gibbs from By Hand Consulting, the process of determining the artisan’s selling price of a fair trade handicraft goes something like this:

Setting a fair selling price infographic.

  1. Determine the fair hourly wage for the artisan(s) by considering their monthly expenses and how many hours they work. Other cultures do not always follow the American model of 8-hour workdays five days a week, so it takes research to find out what it would actually take for the artisans to earn a living wage.
  2. Determine the total cost to produce the item by tracking and adding the costs of materials, labor (using the fair hourly wage) and overhead. Artisans may not have accounting skills or tools, so some training is often part of this process.
  3. Consider the target customer, competition, quality, and desired profit margin, then set the selling price. This is the price that the artisan will receive from the first buyer, often a wholesaler.

As the item passes through the distribution channel from artisan to exporter to importer to wholesaler to retailer, the price of the item increases at each stage. These increases are due to shipping costs and the overhead and profit margins taken by each “middleman.” Many fair traders attempt to cut out as many steps as possible to reduce costs, but it’s still not unusual for the retail price of an item to be seven times more than what the artisan was originally paid. (I had no idea importing goods was so expensive. Mind = blown!)

As you can see, determining fair prices and wages is a complicated process. This makes me a little more understanding of why more companies, especially smaller companies, don’t do it (even though it’s the right thing to do), and it also makes me incredibly appreciative of the fair traders who put in the effort and commitment to ensure producers are paid fairly.

Fair payment is one of the many reasons I choose to support fair trade. Why do you choose fair trade? Do you have any questions about fair trade? Let me know in the comments!

Why Fair Trade? Creating Opportunities

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One thing I have struggled with as I have changed my shopping habits is explaining to people why choosing fair trade is worthwhile. I sometimes even have a hard time articulating what fair trade is. With this new series “Why Fair Trade?” I plan to share some of the main reasons that fair trade is important to me and how it makes a real and positive difference in people’s lives.

First, let’s start with a basic definition of fair trade:

What does that mean? Basically, fair trade is a way of doing business that is intentionally designed to be fair to all partners and lead to positive development for participating communities. To me, that sounds like how people and businesses should behave all the time, which is why fair trade is such an obvious choice for me.

So how do fair trade businesses help develop communities? One way is by…

Creating Opportunities for Economically and Socially Marginalized Producers

Fair trade businesses partner with artisans, farmers, cooperatives and other producer groups who are in some way marginalized or disadvantaged in the global marketplace. Producers could live in an impoverished area with few employment options or poor infrastructure, they could be workers gaining job skills after escaping domestic abuse or human trafficking, or they could be independently-owned farms competing with large corporate plantations. These are just a few examples of the types of producers who benefit from fair trade but may not otherwise have the ability to compete in the conventional marketplace.

By choosing to work with these types of producers, fair trade businesses offer workers a sustainable way to increase their income and quality of life. This development comes through safe and fair employment, not through charity, which helps communities break the cycle of poverty.

Beyond just creating an initial opportunity, fair trade businesses also help producers build their capacity by forming long-term partnerships and providing training on product design, finance, and other business skills.

Here is an example of how one fair trade business, Greenola, created opportunity for women to lift themselves out of poverty:

In Bolivia, Greenola collaborates with sewing cooperatives, particularly cooperatives of indigenous women, to create fun, fashionable clothing.

The women are doubly disadvantaged. Bolivian society often undervalues the worth of women in the workplace and many of their 50+ artisan partners have faced a lifetime of racism and discrimination because of their Quechua heritage. […]

Greenola has helped the women organize and provided start-up loans and regular orders so that the women could improve their own lives, receive a living wage, and be connected to the global market. Socially, Greenola also facilitates opportunities for the women to manage, operate, and innovate within their cooperatives.

Source: Fair Trade Federation

I hope that explanation sheds some light on how fair trade can truly improve lives. Do you have questions about fair trade? Let me know and I’ll try to answer them in a future post!