by: Courtney Remacle
This October is being hailed as fair trade month, a month designed to celebrate fair trade products and raise awareness about what fair trade means and what its impact is. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, fair trade is a certification producers can earn to confirm that their products were produced in an ethical manner and that the farmers, ranchers, and artisans who produce the products or raw material are paid a fair price. Common fair trade certified products include chocolate, coffee, and bananas, but many other products can be certified fair trade as well.
The fair trade principles include:
- Fair prices and credit: Democratically organized farming groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price (or the market price if it’s higher) and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farming organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.
- Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions and sustainable wages. Forced child and slave labor are strictly prohibited.
- Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible to eliminate unnecessary middlemen and empower farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.
- Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade premiums, which are funds for community development.
- Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarships, schools, quality improvement and leadership training, and organic certification.
- Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.
Fair trade gets to the heart of the triple bottom line of sustainability and ensures not only environmental protection, but economic fairness and social justice. In honor of fair trade month, I encourage all you readers to replace on product you usually buy with a certified fair trade product. Tell us about what you buy fair trade and where you got it in the comments! You can learn more about the Fair Trade certification here.