Is anyone out there into Fair Trade?

[Lisa23]

[[[After reading Trent’s recent post, Saving Money Versus Saving the World, at The Simple Dollar, I thought it was worth revisiting Fair Trade. (See my post from last January on Fair Trade Organic Coffee.)]]]

At first it was part of a grassroots movement to change the world. But now it’s big business. Fair Trade Coffee is the latest buzz, a growing profit maker. Americans’ growing awareness of unfair labor practices abroad has spawned newfound compassion from the big guys, like Starbucks, and even MacDonald’s, compelling them to respond by offering increasing numbers of fair trade options. And the result: more fair trade coffee is being sold than ever before.
The question is, is it enough? Worldwide each year 7 million tons of coffee beans are grown, most of it hand picked. Why shouldn’t it all come from Fair Trade Farms? It should be the norm, not the exception.
But large companies are not motivated by doing the right thing, they’re motivated by stockholders. And many stockholders see profit as King of the Hill.
Now, here’s a chance for we consumers to have input. By rewarding companies for doing the right thing, we can help change the lives of farmers around the world. It’s one individual’s small, yet heroic, deed. 138 billion cups of coffee are consumed by Americans alone each year. If each of us - especially the coffee addicts like me- simply reach for the fair trade, Starbucks and the like, will listen.
I hope you’ll consider it.


Lisa

[jkuo13]

I can't say I buy everything fair trade, but I do make it a point to buy fair trade chocolate. IMO, the fair trade chocolate often tastes better than a lot of the big brand non-fair trade stuff.

I agree with you that fair trade should be the norm rather than the exception. Unfortunately, there's a big disconnect in people's purchasing habits and their knowledge of a product's source. Other issues would be price and availability. Some people will always buy cheaper regardless, and most people won't bother with fair trade if it's not convenient and readily available.