Fair Trade in Action

So we get the idea and we like it, but we deep thinkers want to know—how does it work? Let’s take a look at the connections that allow fair trade players — from producers to non-profit organizations to companies that distribute products — bring quality, ethically-conscious goods to the international market.

The Producers—Making Stuff Happen

The foundation of the fair trade movement are the folks who grow and process food, create arts and crafts, and make other products the rest of us want to buy. Here is one example of a group of growers for whom fair trade made all the difference.

The Toledo Cacao Growers Association (TCGA) is a cooperative of 126 cocoa farmers in Toledo, the southernmost district of Belize. These poor, primarily Mayan farmers produce shade-grown, organic and ecologically-friendly cocoa. The farmers formed the cooperative in 1986 to improve their profits, living conditions and product quality. When the market price of cocoa dropped below the cost of production in the early ‘90s, many of the farmers had to leave their own crops to seek work on plantations.

Thankfully, a fair trade certified UK-based chocolatier provided financial stability to the TCGA by offering a long-term contract that ensures a minimum, above-market price for their cocoa. Members of the TCGA can now afford to send their children to school, where uniforms, books and bus fare can add up to insurmountable costs for many poor families in the region.

The steady income has also benefited the TCGA as a whole as, in keeping with fair trade principles, funds have been reinvested in the cooperative. The TCGA can now afford to pay an administrative staff, offer educational workshops on sustainable farming and promote organic cocoa farming to the local community. No longer dependent on the unpredictable rise and fall of market prices, TCGA farmers can continue to practice their traditional, environmentally sustainable lifestyles and even expand their business.

Learn more: www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/
cocoa/cocoacooperatives.html

The Certifiers—Keeping it Real

Much like the organic foods industry, the fair trade movement needs support systems to expand participation and monitoring to assure consumers that they’re getting the real thing.

TransFair USA is a nonprofit member of Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) and the only third-party certifier of fair trade products in the United States. TransFair audits transactions between U.S. companies offering Fair Trade Certified™ products and the international suppliers from whom they source in order to guarantee that the farmers and farm workers behind Fair Trade Certified goods were paid a fair, above-market price. In addition, annual inspections conducted by FLO ensure that strict socioeconomic development criteria are being met using increased fair trade revenues.

TransFair operates on a market-based approach to ending poverty and an alternative to dependency on aid, based in the belief that workers deserve safe working conditions, a decent living wage and the right to organize.

Learn more: www.transfair.org.

The Distributors—Delivering the Goods

Until you know where to look, finding fair trade products may seem like a Nancy Drew mystery tale. In truth, thousands of companies in the United States distribute a wide variety of fair trade products through traditional brick-and-mortar stores as well as online.

But - buyer beware. Some unscrupulous dealers only pretend to trade fairly with their suppliers. Make sure the company is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, their products are TransFair Certified, or they've received the Co-op America stamp of approval. All of the companies at Idealist Gifts meet these standards.

Take a look at the distributors included in our Fair Trade Shop and check back every holiday - we're adding more all the time.