What is Fair Trade?

The Fair Trade label is at the top of the 400 or so green certifications in the U.S. Most people say that they support Fair Trade products and prefer to drink Fair Trade coffee. This is great, because Fair Trade is an effort to improve the lives of workers around the world by paying them higher wages. 

Fair Trade can apply to several different types of products including: handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate, flowers and gold. Fair Trade is a victory for the thousands of activists who've worked to transition for an economy based on exploitation to one based on cooperation.

But, we haven't gotten there yet and the underlying weaknesses of using a label to transform business practices are becoming more and more apparent. Worldwide there are several different Fair Trade labels, the largest in the U.S. being Fair Trade USA, and Equal Exchange. 

In a recent New York Times article, Fair Trade USA is reportly cutting its ties at year’s end with Fair Trade International making far-reaching changes in the sorts of products that get its seal of approval.

"The changes include giving the fair trade designation to coffee from large plantations, which were previously barred in favor of small farms. The group is also proposing to place its seal on products with as little as 10 percent fair trade ingredients, compared with a minimum of 20 percent required in other countries."

Fair Trade USA is lowering its standards in an attempt to reach of you in the grocery store, and improve the lives of more workers if only by a little. The other Fair Trade labels are angry, saying this hurts their brand and weakens the benefits for all farmers at the end of the supply chain.

How do you feel about Fair Trade USA's changes? What does the Fair Trade label mean to you?