Epicurean Ethics
For many Americans a morning coffee is much more than an energy boost. It's a community ritual, a way to build relationships with local businesses and spend time with neighbors. Increasingly it has also become a way to reflect one's social convictions and touch communities around the globe through two ubiquitous words: Fair Trade.
Yet these nine letters hold implications often unfamiliar to consumers. On the surface Fair Trade evokes images of contented third world farmers and their children clad in primary school uniforms- what could be better? But to fully understand the consequences of Fair Trade one must look past the glossy photos on the coffee bag and into a textbook.
Fair Trade as a broad social justice movement emerged with the notion of third world development assisted by industrialized powers in the post-WWII global trading regime. Religious groups spearheaded this practice by offering ethically sourced handicrafts directly from the third world producers near their missions abroad. It wasn't until the early 1980's that Fair Trade products caught on in general commerce. In Fair Trade Coffee: The Prospects and Pitfalls of Market-Driven Social Justice, author Gavin Fridell, noted that by the end of 2008, 746 producers in 58 developing countries had been certified Fair Trade. That same year, Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) reported that Fair Trade products accounted for $4.08 billion in global product sales.
So what is “Fair Trade”? Who better to define the term than the organization responsible for it: according to the FLO, “Fairtrade means prices that aim to cover the costs of sustainable production, an additional Fairtrade Premium, advance credit, longer term trade relationships, and decent working conditions for hired labor.” In the United States, Fair Trade is not defined by a government agency but certified through Fairtrade USA, a third party organization that works in conjunction with the FLO. In order to be labeled “Fair Trade Certified” in the US, a company must obtain their goods from a source that conforms to various environmental and labor standards as designated by the FLO (differing by product) and undergo routine FLO inspection. These measures, on top of the Fairtrade USA registration fee, cost companies an arm and a leg to institute. Out of respect for producers and seeking the added revenue from customers that share their convictions of social justice, many companies are more than happy to oblige. If coffee be the beverage of justice, drink on.
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