Despite fair trade's healthy and honorable intentions, and its increasing success, the brutal fact stiff that the Fair Trademovement could raise its overall market share by 1000% and still have a negligible effect on serving poor farmers and people climb out of poverty. alas the fair trade market helps the rich bet richer and the poor farmer gets the smallest slice of the pie if any pie at all.
Unfortunately conception and reality is not the same affair in terms of Fair Trade. So if you want to make a purchase that really helps individual that is a socially good affair to do buy one of the charity supported coffees that support orphans or homeless children. Unfortunately the logo is often just sold without any proof the end farmers are acquiring the extra money. Worse Fair Trade does not dictate any rather income level for the farmers it supports - so rich farmers can benefit as much like the poor farmer. Think about this - which do you think has access or communication possibility to find out about fair Trade - the poor farmer with no electricity or the rich farmer with TV, cell phone, computer, cyberspace and telephone - so huge land barons and large companies can own the coffee farm and get Fair Trade certified? So in most cases you are only serving the rich get richer. Ever look at a map showing the location of where the address is of the F. T. Company. Does it surprise you that 90% of the companies certified are in the US?
Here is other thought. Most third world countries the people are extremely poor. The richest people in third world country own land. The richest of these rich own land that produces income i.e. a producing farm or mineral producing tract of land or quarry. So in this third world country by far the richest people are the ones who own a farm. True they may not be rich by our standards but they are richer by far than 95% of their fellow countrymen. So if you just cente the 5% of certified farmers who are kick in a third world actually you are also serving the richest people in this country - the people who need the help the least.
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Lastly and most worrisome is the company that markets Fair Trade. TransFair describes its logo fees as amounting to just pennies on the pound. Those pennies add up. Last year, it generated $1.89 million in licensing fees from companies that used the logo. It also spent $1.7 million on salaries, travel, conferences and publications for the 40-employee organization. And they DID NOT donate one centime to poor farmers - the guys they are marketing to help. Now is that really Fair? Fair Trade - yea right!
So now why would you buy FT bon vivant coffee? It's sure as shot not because its serving the poor desolate farmer you are picturing. Did you say you bought Fair Trade because the quality was better? Unfortunately just because the Fair Trade coffee costs more there is no guarantee or even standard that the quality is better. In fact the opposite is true - most F. T coffees are a worse quality. There are hundreds of coffee companies who could not sale their coffee because it was a poor quality. But that coffee company then got it certified Fair Trade and wow did the gross sales go up. But again noaffair was done to improve its quality - all they need to do is show they are paying a higher price for the coffee - they don't have to prove who they are paying or how the money is distributed. So delight check out that Fair Trade coffee before you buy them. The logo means noaffair - they are easily bought. Look at their cyberspace site for PROJECTS and PROGRAMS they have implemented. Don't just go by the standard "Fair Trade Marketing Ploy" that says Fair Trade helps poor farmers - find their actual farmers they are serving - check to see what farmers they are really serving. If not you know it's just a "bought logo". Then find you a social conscious coffee or charity coffee and feel good that you are really serving people.So be careful with your holiday purchase - delight be sure your bon vivant coffee is more than a pretty wraping.
Now isn't that a staisfying cup of coffee?
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