What does fair trade actually mean?
Historically, the power imbalance associated with global trade has left the poorest producers facing exploitation and discrimination at the hands of the globalised market. In order to create more equitable arrangements, alternative movements, such as Fair Trade, have been established with the aim to increase awareness and improve the level of poverty and destruction that has been created as result of free trade policies and deregulated financial markets.
The growth of the Fair Trade movement can be traced back to the mid 20th century, when shops and markets popped up importing and selling fair trade goods to socially conscious consumers in developed countries. Overtime, such trading patterns emerged on a wider scale, with NGOs established that advocated for change and organisations creating fair-trade certification standards and co-existing labelling initiatives.
Certified fair trade products provide producers with higher and more stable prices as they are sold at a premium guaranteed level, which in turn raises wages and assists in lifting individuals out of poverty. However, in order to have a product or good certified, the farmer or plantation must first meet strict social, environmental and social requirements, which is structured around improving working conditions as well as protecting communities and the environment.
Fair Trade standards are set by Fairtrade International and include requirements for health and safety, fair price requirements paid by employees, policies to prevent discrimination and child labour, support for collective association and bargaining, as well as a focus on climate change and reforestation efforts, for example through the Fair Trade Carbon Credit scheme. This scheme encourages the uptake of local projects that minimise carbon footprints, such as improved energy efficiency measures. In turn, farmers not only build environmental resilience but they also save carbon, making them eligible for credits that can be sold to companies and individuals, allowing for even more reinvestment back into the community.
The success of fair trade has been a topic that has received major academic and media attention over the years. Many have criticised that as a measure, Fair Trade has done little to make significant poverty reductions, lacking transparency, imposing unattainable costs and benchmarks on producers and subjecting farmers to new forms of surveillance and control. At the same time, I would argue that Fair Trade has, and should, play a continuing role in reshaping global trade and the dialogue that surrounding it. It has put the heart back into trade, encouraging participation in the global market and, perhaps most significantly, reconnected producers and consumers.
Common fair trade certified products include chocolate, cotton, tea, coffee, gold, fruit, flowers and vanilla. There are lots of fair trade guides online, with some of my favourite products including:
Tea: T2 and the English Tea Shop - I have also written a previous blog post dedicated to tea!
Chocolate: Green and Blacks - their organic cacao powder doesn’t have any added sugar and makes a really tasty hot chocolate. Just add your type of milk (plant based preferred) and honey/maple syrup for sweetness!
Ice-Cream: Ben and Jerry’s - I’ll be honest, ice-cream isn’t my first choice of treat (I’m a more of a chocolate girl). But, when I do choose ice-cream, I love a good Chocolate Fudge Brownie by Ben and Jerry‘s!
