Fair Trade

Fair Trade means...

• Fair wages
• Safe working conditions
• No slave labor
• Environmental sustainability

The daily decisions you make as a consumer can make a real, positive difference in the world. You are the key...

What exactly is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is an organized social movement which promotes standards for international labor, environmentalism, and social policy in areas related to production of Fair Trade labeled and unlabeled goods. The movement focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries. It’s intent is to guarantee fair wages for workers.

In other words...

When you choose to buy fair trade products you are supporting hardworking, but impoverished workers around the world who are receiving a fare wage. It also means that the items you are purchasing have NOT been made by workers who are being forced to work, being held against their will, or victims of trafficking.

An example: Chocolate.

When you take a bite of that delicious chocolate bar, do you ever stop to wonder where it came from? Who grew the cocoa beans that made it all possible? The facts are that there are 1.5 million cocoa farms in West Africa, most of them small, and approximately 80% of the world’s cocoa is produced on small farms. The U.S. alone spends $13 billion a year on cocoa products and yet many cocoa farmers are impoverished. Many of these farmers have never tasted the finished product, chocolate, that comes from the cocoa that they grow. This is because they can’t afford it. Add to this that in 2001, press reports in Europe and North America alleged that cocoa farmers were using child slaves who were physically and mentally abused. Further research* on 1,500 cocoa farms in 2002 identified 284,000 children (mostly under the age of 14) working on cacao plantations and doing dangerous tasks such as spraying pesticides and working machinery. Many organizations have pressed for responsible labor standards, but change is slow. The basis of the problem is poverty.

(from “The Bittersweet World of Chocolate” by Troth Wells & Nikki van der Gaag)
*Research done by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

What can we do? Fair Trade

What if there was a way to enjoy this luscious treat without worrying that your pleasure is at the expense of another’s misery? What if we had a choice? We do. Fair Trade covers a variety of products including coffee, tea, handicrafts and, yes, chocolate. An independent organization monitors and inspects producers and buyers. When you purchase Fair Trade chocolate, you are guaranteed that:

• Farmers earn a stable living and are paid a fair price
• Women’s work is properly valued and rewarded
• No child labor or forced labor has been used, and the workers have been properly paid
• Ecologically sustainable methods are being used
• Ongoing monitoring continues on a yearly basis

But it does mean making the extra effort to purchase, for example, the Fair Trade chocolate bar (which will usually cost a bit more) rather than the cheap Hershey's, Nestle’s or Mars chocolates that you are used to. And while we’re on the topic...why not write to them? Explain how much you enjoy their products, and that you are going to miss buying them!

What else?

Other products that are available include:
Bananas, Dried Fruit, Honey, Nuts and Seeds, Tea, Wine, Clothing, Jewelry, Household Goods, Toys...

Why not consider shopping Fair Trade for gifts and include a note about where the item was made and how people are benefiting from the purchase? You can even purchase products made by rescued survivors of Human Trafficking.

What was that about coffee?

Coffee is the world's second most valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum. There are approximately 25 million farmers and coffee workers in over 50 countries involved in producing coffee around the world. Coffee producers, like most agricultural workers around the world, are kept in a cycle of poverty and debt by the current global economy designed to exploit cheap labor and keep consumer prices low.

Most small farmers sell directly to middlemen exporters, or coyotes. These coyotes are known to take advantage of small farmers, paying them below market price for their harvests and keeping a high percentage for themselves. In contrast, large coffee estate owners usually process and export their own harvests that are sold at the prices set by the New York Coffee Exchange. However, extremely low wages ($2-3/day) and poor working conditions for farm workers characterize coffee plantation jobs. They may also have a minimum quota they have to fulfill. Because of this, many coffee workers bring their children to help them in the fields in order to pick the daily quota. Since these child workers are not officially employed, they are not subject to labor protections. An investigative report by a San Francisco TV station found children as young as 6 or 8 years old at work in the fields. The best way to prevent child labor in the fields is to pay workers a living wage. The best way to guarantee a living wage is Fair Trade.

(from www.globalexchange.org)

Facts & Figures:

• 2.7 billion - estimated number of people in the world existing on less than $2/day, according to the World Bank
• 284,000 - number of children in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon working in hazardous tasks on conventional cocoa farms, according to a 2002 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture study directly involving 4,500+ producers.
• 15,000 - number of children aged 9 to 12 in the Ivory Coast alone who have been sold into forced labor on conventional cotton, coffee, and cocoa plantations, according to a 2000 US State Department report.
• 2 cents - amount farmers on conventional farms receive from the average $3 latte, according to Transfair USA.

(www.fairtradefederation.org)

The Vineyard Perspective

Our God is a God of mercy and compassion. Over and over, the Bible commands us to care for the poor.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

How do I know if it is Fair Trade?

• Look for Fair Trade Certification and/or read the label.
• Ways that you can begin to buy fair Trade:
• Many local stores are carrying Fair Trade foods, such as coffee, chocolate and tea...Ask for it!
• Costco, Sam's Club, Trader Joe’s, Target, Henry’s, Whole Foods, Sprout’s, Mother’s Markets & Cost Plus World Imports

Also try:

Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops

Ask for Vanilla, Chocolate, Coffee or Coffee Heath Bar Crunch Ice Cream

Bruegger’s

Ask for their Daily Fair Trade Certified brewed Coffee

Noah’s Bagels

Ask for their Daily Fair Trade Certified brewed Coffee

Peet’s Coffee

Ask for the Fair Trade Blend

Seattle’s Best

Ask for the Fair Trade Certified Organic French Roast

Starbucks Coffee

Ask for Café Estima

Internet Shopping:

Made by survivors of Human Trafficking:

Brands of Fair Trade Chocolate and where to buy:
http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html

"Who wants to be well-adjusted to injustice? What kind of human being do you want to be?"
—Dr. Cornell West