Why is fair trade important?
Free trade isn’t fair for farmers and artisans, their families, communities, or the environment. Fair trade is. For example, a drastic fall in world coffee prices has pushed millions of coffee farmers and workers into malnutrition and starvation; and losing their jobs and even their farms. Some have even turned to drug cultivation to survive. Most cocoa farmers are so poor they have been using child labor, sometimes even child slaves. Most farmers get only about half of the world price because they are forced to sell their next crop in advance to exploitative middlemen who pay far below the value. Some farmers have also cut down the rainforest to sell the trees for extra money, or to make room for more profitable crops. Artisans face poverty and the loss of culture as they find the need to work in sweatshops. Fair trade ensures better lives by helping people afford health care and keep their kids in school; and by supporting sustainable production. Fair trade producers also set aside f
Fair trade products are set at a base price, which is set to cover the cost of production and still give the producer a profit. Big businesses and importers participating in fair trade are monitored to ensure they are paying the set price. This system boosts the economies, and allows the producers a chance to live on their wages as well as afford basic necessities such as housing, food, education, and healthcare. Boosting these micro economies helps boost the overall world economy. The most widely known and traded commodity in fair trade is currently coffee beans. For more information on fair trade coffee, read this article.
