|
|
Fair Trade – Why Is It Important
Fair trade is increasingly popular for imported goods. You may see coffee in your gourmet food store with a “fair trade” label. You may see textiles and crafts for sale on the web advertised as being “fair trade” products. But what is it exactly? Fair trade is an approach to marketing that incorporates environmentally sustainable development and humane wages and working conditions. It is based on the twin principles that the producer of a product should receive a living wage for his or her work and that commerce should be done with the intent of maintaining environmental conditions for future generations. Those goals are accomplished by working directly with small businesses, cooperatives and community-based organizations, thereby cutting out layers of middlemen. As a consequence of the elimination of middlemen, the retail prices for fair trade items are comparable to products that are not fair trade. Read the rest of this entry »
Related posts
Fair Trade – Why Invest in It
Fair trade is a model for sustainable economy in rural communities in the developing world. Small grassroots businesses, such as banana farmers and handicraft co-operatives, make up the fair trade movement. Promoting livelihoods and empowering these groups is where sustainable development and poverty alleviation begin. Fair trade promotes operating with transparency and long term relationships with producers. It also provides incentives for rural producers to engage in environmentally sustainable and socially responsible practices by paying a price which covers the costs of sustainable production, while ensuring a Premium for community development projects. In 2008, the Fairtrade Premium contributed over 22 million euros to fair trade coffee farmers and over 11 million euros to fairtrade banana farmers. As successful as the fair trade movement has been at helping to eradicate poverty in the developing world, the current worldwide credit crunch is threatening the viability of the movement going forward.
Over 7 million people in 62 countries across the world depend on fair trade for their livelihood, either directly through their work or indirectly through the community projects that the Premium provides. Some 450 million small farms are home to 2 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population. These farms are also home to half the world’s hungry people. Seventy-five percent of the 2.6 billion people who survive on less than $2 a day live in rural areas.
Tags: fair tradeRelated posts
Fair Trade – What, Why & Where
We are all aware of the endless issues we face socially, economically, and environmentally in our world today. It is very easy to become overwhelmed and in response throw up our hands and say, “what can I do, as one person, that will make a difference.” We can set our individual intention to embark on a journey of empowerment and share this journey with our community, so that we may step forward knowing that we can and do make a difference both individually and as a collective community.
A good first stop on this journey is Fair Trade. I start my day, as many of you likely do, with a good ‘ol cup o’Joe. The sound of the beans grinding, the sweet aroma of it brewing, the steam rising off my foaming soy, and the delicious, invigorating first taste are such fundamental necessities to a day starting off just right. Our simple daily rituals, such as enjoying a cup of coffee, can have significant implications, socially, economically, and environmentally.
Tags: fair trade