Despite Fair Trade’s healthy and honorable intentions, and its growing success, the brutal fact remains that the Fair Trade movement could increase its overall market share by 1000% and still have negligible effect in helping farmers and poor people to get out of poverty. Unfortunately, the fair trade market helps the rich to bet richer, and the poor farmer gets the smallest piece of the pie, if at all.
Unfortunately, concept and reality are not the same in terms of Fair Trade. So if you want to make a purchase that really helps someone, that’s a good thing socially, buy one of the cafes funded by charities that help orphans or homeless children. Unfortunately, the logo is often sold without any proof that the end farmers are making the extra money. Worse Fair Trade does not impose any kind of income level for the farmers it supports, so rich farmers can benefit as much as the poor farmer. Think about this, who do you think has access or communications to find out about Fair Trade? The poor farmer without electricity or the rich farmer with TV, cell phone, computer, Internet and telephone, so that the great land tycoons and big companies can own. the coffee farm and get Fair Trade certification? So in most cases, you are only helping the rich get richer. Ever look at a map showing the location of the FT Company address. Are you surprised that 90% of certified companies are in the United States?
Here’s another thought. In most third world countries, people are extremely poor. The richest people in third world countries own land. The richest of these rich own land that produces income, that is, a producing farm or a tract of land or quarry producing minerals. So in that third world country, by far the richest people are those who own a farm. It is true that they may not be rich by our standards, but they are much richer than 95% of their compatriots. So if you only focus on the 5% of certified farmers who are in a third world, you are actually also helping the richest people in that country, the people who need help the least.
Last and most worrying is the company that markets Fair Trade. TransFair describes their logo fees as only pennies per pound. Those pennies add up. Last year, it generated $ 1.89 million in license fees from companies that used the logo. He also spent $ 1.7 million on salaries, travel, conferences and publications for the 40-employee organization. And they did NOT donate a penny to poor farmers, the guys they are promoting to help. Is that really fair? Fair trade, yeah right!
So why would you buy gourmet FT coffee? It’s certainly not because I’m helping the poor desolate farmer you’re imagining. Did you say you bought Fair Trade because the quality was better? Unfortunately, just because Fair Trade coffee costs more, there is no guarantee or standard that the quality is better. In fact, the opposite is true: most F. T coffees are of poorer quality. There are hundreds of coffee companies that could not sell their coffee because it was of poor quality. But that coffee company later got Fair Trade certification and sales increased. But, again, nothing was done to improve its quality; all they need to do is show that they are paying a higher price for coffee; They do not have to show who they pay or how the money is distributed. So please check that Fairtrade coffee before you buy it. The logo does not mean anything, they are easily bought. Look on their website for the PROJECTS and PROGRAMS they have implemented. Don’t just follow the standard “fair trade marketing strategy” that says fair trade helps poor farmers, find the real farmers they are helping, check which farmers they are actually helping. If not, you know it’s just a “purchased logo”. Then find a socially conscious cafe or charity cafe and feel good that you are really helping people. So be careful with your holiday shopping, make sure your gourmet coffee is more than just pretty wrapping.
Isn’t that a comforting cup of coffee?
