I was reading a post, Bringing Fair Trade Into The Classroom , today when it occurred to me…”do I know what, “Fair Trade” means?”
Like with so much in life, I have a somewhat fuzzy idea. Sure, I have seen the Fairtrade Certification Mark on my coffee. I also became aware of the term “fair trade” being tossed about by various folks in and out of the know. I too, would blithely toss it around, as long as it wasn’t obvious that I only had the vaguest idea of what I was talking about.
Well, now I’ve made a concerted effort to try to determine exactly what it IS that I am talking about…for a change. OK.
Fair Trade products are loosely defined as those that are manufactured or raised by companies that practice environmental and social responsibility and pay a fair wage. Fair Trade goods usually are those produced in developing countries where we, in the First World , have had a bad habit of exploiting natural resources, inhabitants and cultures for at least a few centuries.
Use of The Fairtrade (note that little difference – Fair Trade vs. Fairtrade) Certification mark we see on all sorts of , usually agricultural goods is granted by, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International , a non-profit network of producers and labelers that certifies that products are grown in accordance with fair trade principles. The actual audit of working conditions is done by Flo-Cert - based in Bonn , Germany . (Historical note – the first product to be Fairtrade Certified was coffee in The Netherlands in 1988.)
In other words, a FairTrade Certification Mark means neither the workers, the land nor the culture of the producer country is getting screwed over by some grabby, greedy entity. (You can replace entity with: “soulless large corporation” or “uncaring capitalist” if you like.) And somebody has gone down there, checked it out and verified that this is the case.
The Fair Trade Certification mark, however, is only for agricultural goods. Makers of toys, clothing and household goods are out of luck. Or are they?
There are a variety of organizations including The International Fair Trade Organization that will certify all sorts of products as being made by companies following “Fair Trade” principles. Or, more or less following the golden rule.
The term, “Fair Trade”, however, it appears can be tossed around with impunity, by just about anybody. I’ve found, as in the case of organic vs. “certified organic”, that most small companies tend to just not be able to afford to pay for the certification process yet and use the more generic term, minus any mark or logo, in the meantime. You can read more about this here .
Now, as grubby tales of overworked teenagers in China , manufacturing the mountains of lead tainted toys we gave each other this Christmas leak out, there is increased interest in buying all sorts of Fair Trade produced goods. The International Fair Trade Organization has a searchable catalog of manufacturers on their website and there are a variety of other spots on the web that feature cooperatives of fair trade merchants.
While in many cases, Fair Trade goods tend to be more expensive, there are a few ways to look at this. When large corporations, such as Wal-Mart which, in a radical change of heart and under the suspicious eye of consumer advocates, is doing all sorts of socially responsible things these days, offers Fairtrade certified goods, you can be pretty sure, you’re paying a little extra but, it’s worth it to salve your conscience. Goods produced by companies using The International Fair Trade Organization mark also are perhaps a bit more expensive but more ethical.
In general, depending on how suspicious you are, you can assume that most people are using the words, “Fair Trade” fairly…if perhaps a bit loosely. Until I see it plastered on every chemical containing, plastic encased product on store shelves, I’ll assume somebody’s paying attention to the people, the culture and the environment of the country in which it is made.
BTW- After writing this post, I found a great site called Ecolabelling.org, a global directory of 295 ecolabels. See a label on a product you want to but, don't understand what it means? Enter it on this site to find out.
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Like with so much in life, I have a somewhat fuzzy idea. Sure, I have seen the Fairtrade Certification Mark on my coffee. I also became aware of the term “fair trade” being tossed about by various folks in and out of the know. I too, would blithely toss it around, as long as it wasn’t obvious that I only had the vaguest idea of what I was talking about.
Well, now I’ve made a concerted effort to try to determine exactly what it IS that I am talking about…for a change. OK.
Fair Trade products are loosely defined as those that are manufactured or raised by companies that practice environmental and social responsibility and pay a fair wage. Fair Trade goods usually are those produced in developing countries where we, in theFirst World , have had a bad habit of exploiting natural resources, inhabitants and cultures for at least a few centuries.
Use of The Fairtrade (note that little difference – Fair Trade vs. Fairtrade) Certification mark we see on all sorts of , usually agricultural goods is granted by, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International , a non-profit network of producers and labelers that certifies that products are grown in accordance with fair trade principles. The actual audit of working conditions is done by Flo-Cert - based in Bonn , Germany . (Historical note – the first product to be Fairtrade Certified was coffee in The Netherlands in 1988.)
In other words, a FairTrade Certification Mark means neither the workers, the land nor the culture of the producer country is getting screwed over by some grabby, greedy entity. (You can replace entity with: “soulless large corporation” or “uncaring capitalist” if you like.) And somebody has gone down there, checked it out and verified that this is the case.
The Fair Trade Certification mark, however, is only for agricultural goods. Makers of toys, clothing and household goods are out of luck. Or are they?
There are a variety of organizations including The International Fair Trade Organization that will certify all sorts of products as being made by companies following “Fair Trade” principles. Or, more or less following the golden rule.
The term, “Fair Trade”, however, it appears can be tossed around with impunity, by just about anybody. I’ve found, as in the case of organic vs. “certified organic”, that most small companies tend to just not be able to afford to pay for the certification process yet and use the more generic term, minus any mark or logo, in the meantime. You can read more about this here .
Now, as grubby tales of overworked teenagers in China , manufacturing the mountains of lead tainted toys we gave each other this Christmas leak out, there is increased interest in buying all sorts of Fair Trade produced goods. The International Fair Trade Organization has a searchable catalog of manufacturers on their website and there are a variety of other spots on the web that feature cooperatives of fair trade merchants.
While in many cases, Fair Trade goods tend to be more expensive, there are a few ways to look at this. When large corporations, such as Wal-Mart which, in a radical change of heart and under the suspicious eye of consumer advocates, is doing all sorts of socially responsible things these days, offers Fairtrade certified goods, you can be pretty sure, you’re paying a little extra but, it’s worth it to salve your conscience. Goods produced by companies using The International Fair Trade Organization mark also are perhaps a bit more expensive but more ethical.
In general, depending on how suspicious you are, you can assume that most people are using the words, “Fair Trade” fairly…if perhaps a bit loosely. Until I see it plastered on every chemical containing, plastic encased product on store shelves, I’ll assume somebody’s paying attention to the people, the culture and the environment of the country in which it is made.
BTW- After writing this post, I found a great site called Ecolabelling.org, a global directory of 295 ecolabels. See a label on a product you want to but, don't understand what it means? Enter it on this site to find out.Share this post: