Grassroots or Greenwashing? Demystifying the Fairtrade Movement
“Fair Trade” can feel like an empty buzzword, similar to “organic” or “natural.” It feels good to spend our money on things that have that iconic Fairtrade Foundation logo. But how many of us actually know why it’s important to sustainability?
You will often see “Fair-Trade Certified” on bananas, honey, spices, coffee, tropical fruits, and any product that doesn't naturally grow in the United States. But we’re still left with a few questions… what does it mean to be “Fair Trade”? And is it really as fair as we think it is? October is Fair Trade Month, so we thought now would be the right time to break it down.
Brief History: When did the fair trade movement begin and where?
Edna Ruth Byler started the Fair Trade movement. In 1946, Byler started supporting needlework artisans in South Africa. Through importing their art to Pennsylvania, she laid the groundwork for the fair trade movement. Over the years, the movement took shape throughout the United States and Europe in the 60s and 80s.
The Fairtrade movement saw its biggest growth through working with coffee farmers in Mexico in the 1990s. A community of organizations working with laborers and farmers collaborated to create the Fairtrade Foundation in 1992.
Here’s the Deal:
As products like chocolate and coffee became more and more popular, businesses found cheaper and cheaper ways to export products in order to make the most money for their sales.
The Fairtrade movement started out of a need for more advocacy for farm workers growing imported crops.
The Fairtrade Foundation came out of a desire to ensure that these farmers and communities were fairly paid for their product, labor, and their health and safety.
According to the Fair Trade Foundation, in order to be considered a fair trade product, you have to abide by certain qualifications. In general, they cover economic, social, and environmental compliance.
Economic standards ensure that products hit a minimum price that is deemed equitable in consideration of country or community wealth as well as the labor needed.
Social standards ensure that children are not being exploited for labor and that manufacturers don’t participate in discriminatory labor practices. Social standards focus on the health and safety of the work environment and protect laborers' right to organize when necessary.
Environmental standards limit the impact that manufacturers have on the environment both on a local and a global scale. Limiting the use of certain harmful chemicals and pesticides is an important part of the environmental focus of Fairtrade, and the organization incentivizes organic and biodynamic farming when possible.
What’s missing?
The Fairtrade Foundation does a lot of good and has made a massive impact on improving trade labor conditions and educating the public on the global trade practices of major companies. That being said, there are still ways that the Fairtrade movement needs to improve.
Product labeling may be incorrect. Unfortunately, after the split between Fair Trade USA and the International Fairtrade System, the accuracy of fairtrade labeling has concerned many farming and labor activists. Especially on products coming from the global south.
There are gaps in who Fairtrade can help. Fairtrade organizations work closely with farmers, but as products in the Fairtrade movement continue to grow, manufacturers are finding loopholes in ethical practices. According to NPR, Fairtrade has the ability to oversee farmers, but the workers hired by those farmers can often go overlooked.
Many of the standards and practices that are deemed unethical by Fairtrade’s leadership are steeped in generations and histories of injustice that are hard to heal from fully. Trade across the entire world is rooted in a deep and dark history of colonization and slavery motivated by capitalism.
Fair Trade x Sustainability: Why should we care?
Outside of social and economic considerations, Fairtrade has always considered labor and farming's impact on the environment, especially in the global south and communities in economic environments most affected by climate change.
Fairtrade helps farmers adapt their farming practices year to year in response to climate change and mitigating its impact in the long term.
Improving labor, ensuring food security, and offering more jobs to women improve our well-being as a global community. When farmers and laborers have more autonomy and when their health and safety are protected, our impact on the earth improves.