Why choose Fair Trade Products? And what does this term even mean? Fair Trade products are made in safe and healthy working conditions. Farmers and producers both receive a fair price and have a voice in how their workplace is run. In most cases. Fair Trade certified products are better for the environment and help minimize our environmental footprint.
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Why is Fair Trade Important?
When you take a wander through the grocery store to do your weekly shopping there are all sorts of terms that just jump right out at you from the front panel of your food. Organic, natural, locally raised, heirloom, etc. are all terms that tell us a little bit about the food we are buying. But have you ever seen the term ‘Fair Trade’? Do you know what it means or why you should support companies that sell Fair Trade products?
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According to Wikipedia, the term Fair Trade is an social movement that helps producers in developing countries achieve better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Basically, the Fair Trade movement aims to help the poorest of people earn a living wage. In order for these people to earn a decent income, people like US have to buy their products. I thought I would put together a list of reasons why you should choose Fair Trade Certified products when you find them.
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What Does Fair Trade Mean?
Basically, Fair Trade certification is the first step to alleviating global poverty in the increasingly interconnected world market that we live in today. Sometimes, fair trade certified products can be tough to find. However, if you really are interested in choosing Fair Trade products, you CAN find them with a little bit of work.
Check out the Fair Trade standards on FairTradeCertified.org for more details. What do the Fair Trade standards require? All businesses that work with them are held to rigorous fair trade standards. They focus on income sustainability, community and individual well-being, empowerment, and environmental stewardship.
Reasons to Choose Fair Trade Products
- Fair Trade guarantees a fair price to the actual farmer or artisan that is growing and creating the product you purchase. A small amount of this purchase goes back into sustaining the environment that they live in.(called a ‘social premium’)
- The social premium that is charged on every item not only benefits the farmer but the entire community.
- Choosing Fair Trade means better production conditions. The Fairtrade Foundation maintains high standards and inspects Third World suppliers as well as checking contracts and trade terms. Better conditions generally means a better product.
- Fair trade certification encourages farmers to grow organically. Fair Trade standards include specific environmental requirements which are the first step to organic certification.
- Buying Fair Trade certified products sends a message to both the government and food suppliers that consumers want farmers treated fairly, even in third world countries.
Choosing Fair Trade Certified products supports responsible companies, empower farmers, and protects the environment. In other words, it’s a world-changing way of doing business that we need to adopt right now!
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
I love fair trade products and that they are showing that we want equal treatment for farmers everywhere!
I LOVE that you can choose Gluten-Free. My sons and my husband are gluten intolerant or allergic – they haven’t been tested because they don’t want to have to eat gluten for several weeks before testing. My youngest son has violent vomiting and diarrhea (sorry if TMI) when he eats gluten. My husband has had Irritable Bowels since he was young and didn’t find out that it was gluten until we started following the Paleo/Primal diet about 18 months ago. My daughter has a dairy allergy, and I’m allergic to CORN! Being able to choose a gluten-free option is really important to my family, and fair trade is very important to me. Thanks for the recommendation!
Being able to choose Gluten free would be great. My daughter has been diagnosed with Celiac and it it hard to find good Gluten free foods.
I’ve heard bits and pieces about Fair Trade, but thanks for bringing it all together for me! This is a great effort to give back to countries that give so much to us!