According to fairtraderesource.org, more than 11,000 Fair Trade Certified (FTC) products were available in 60,000 retail locations last year––yet many Americans are still unaware of what exactly “Fair Trade” means. Well, Fair Trade is exactly what it sounds like: an exchange between producer and consumer that benefits both parties. By purchasing Fair Trade Certified items like coffee, chocolate, or fruit, the buyer is not only receiving a superior product (with minimal pesticides and free from GMOs), but she is also making a difference in communities all around the world.

Farmers benefit immensely from the purchase of Fair Trade goods. They receive just wages and work under safe conditions. On coffee plantations that are not approved by the Fair Trade Labeling Organization, most growers have no choice but to work for “sweatshop wages and toil under abysmal working conditions” (www.organicconsumers.org). In Guatemala, more than half of all coffee pickers don’t receive minimum wage; some earn less than $3.00 a day. And it’s common for the laborers to sleep in shacks on plantation property and use the same water to cook with and bathe in.  However, farmers working on FTC farms are guaranteed wages that they can live off of. For example, Ethiopian Fair Trade farmers receive $1.26 per pound of coffee and in Peru, new Fair Trade coffee farmers earned nearly 40% more than they had previously.

The environment reaps the benefits of Fair Trade, as well. FTC farms utilize the method of crop rotation to avoid depleting the soil of nutrients. These farms also limit the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and source water sustainably. Farmers are required to provide evidence of reduced carbon emissions and are taught how to properly dispose of waste.

Coffee isn’t the only Fair Trade product out there­­. Let us not forget about chocolate (brands like Equal Exchange, Green & Black’s, and Theo), tea (Honest, Numi, and Traditional Medicinals), or rice (Eighth Wonder). There are also Fair Trade Certified fruits. And vegetables. And soaps and oils and honey. And yes, these products do tend to be more expensive than the ones made or grown by poverty-stricken near-slaves. But the extra dollar or two paid by the well-off American makes all the difference to the small-scale farmer.

Works Cited

"History of the Global Exchange Coffee Campaign." www.organicconsumers.org. n.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.

"Fair Trade U.S. Market Shows Some Changes in 2011." www.fairtraderesource.org. n.p., 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.

Spector, Kaye. "5 Reasons You Should Buy Fair Trade." ecowatch.com. n.p., 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.

"Why Fair Trade Means Protecting the Environment, Too." www.triplepundit.com. n.p. 30 Apr. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.