A couple posts back I was talking about my sister and our conversation about being a Pescatarian. In this same conversation, she had mentioned Fair Trade, and I had asked her about it. How she described it, it was buying things from specific stores who practice sustainability and being humane. My sister knows a lot about these things, because she goes to Davis and she has a friend who's in environmental economics. Who ever that friend was, she sure is feeding my sister a lot of knowledge I Need and Want to know too. But also, my sister attends a bunch of meetings, discussions in her school, and she actually gets paid for it. Nice job!!Anyways, back to Fair Trade: it's "an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers." Wikipedia
What I like about Fair Trade is that workers on Fair Trade farms have safe working conditions and decent living wages. Child labor is also strictly prohibited. Now I know we've all heard about companies who were caught having child labor and sweatshops like Wal-mart, Gap, Nike, Mattel, Speedo, Mc Donalds, and even Apple in China and India. I know I couldn't support these companies knowing that the product that I could be wearing was made by a 5 year old. National Labor Committee found forced labor up to 90 hours a week and pay 46 cents an hour in Chinese factories. Gap even announced in 2007 that they finally cut ties with a subcontractor who was holding children in "slave-like" conditions in India. How can you live with yourself knowing you're doing this or supporting people who do this for a living?Also did you know that Fair Trade are involved with... how do I explain this? My sister had said that the people in the side of the streets selling the fruits are or may be part of the Fair Trade. Those people have probably worked at a Fair Trade farm where they harvest the fruits that they sell for themselves as their income. Some organizations even help homeless people teach them how to farm so they can grow their own fruits and vegetables to feed their family, themselves, or as a skill for future jobs. "Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement trainings, and organic certification."
I recently volunteered and teamed up with a Non-Profit Organization called Cap Solano, to design and draft Global Center for Success's Community Garden Project in Vallejo, CA. When this Community Garden is finished, it will hold classes to teach people in the community how to grow their own fresh produce and plants, and promote environmental awareness. I think its a great way to help out the community and let people know about being green. Article on the Community Garden.
So please try to support Fair Trade. It's another way of being Green and definitely being a huge humanitarian. One company who is part of Fair Trade that I constantly do go to is Starbucks and Target. I don't feel so bad for shopping there so much now that I know my money is going to the right place.Where to find Fair Trade Certified products: http://www.transfairusa.org/content/WhereToBuy/
Fair Trade Sites:
- http://www.transfairusa.org/
- http://www.fairtrade.net/
- http://www.fairtradefederation.org/
- https://shop.thehungersite.com/store/site.do?siteId=220
Fair Trade Sites:
- http://www.transfairusa.org/
- http://www.fairtrade.net/
- http://www.fairtradefederation.org/
- https://shop.thehungersite.com/store/site.do?siteId=220
