THE CARROLL NEWS: 

Staff Commentary: Is Fair Trade really fair?
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Colin Beisel on 06 February, 2008 04:30:00
 
When you sit down to drink that fresh cup of Fair Trade Certified coffee, a
sense of fulfillment typically surrounds one.
Were told that fair trade coffee is produced by laborers who are paid a
living wage and are now happy.
It would make any privileged white person (the typical Fair Trade consumer)
feel a sense of psychological satisfaction and adequacy knowing that they
played their part in helping a poor third-world farmer.
Is it true that some are paid a living wage? Of course. But one element of
fair trade that advocates do not want you to know about is the status seasonal
laborers.
As Jeremy Weber of the University of Wisconsin points out, the only people that
earn a fair wage are those that are members of Fair Trade producer
organizations.
The small farms that produce fair trade coffee are not obligated to abide by
Fair Trade wage and working condition standards when dealing with seasonal
employees.
Such employees make up a substantial portion of their overall labor force.
Unfortunately, low wage and sweatshop protections are not extended to
seasonal farmers.
Fair Trade advocates also lose sight of the products they purchase. Fair Trade
does not guarantee a living wage to laborers, but rather a minimum price to
Fair Trade organizations.
The organizations and consortiums serve as middle men between the producer and
the global market. In the mix of all of this, efficiency is often lost and
extra costs are factored.
Finally, all should keep in mind that the demand for Fair Trade coffee is far
lower than the many people willing to produce.
The same Weber study found that the Fairtrade Labeling Organization, produced
seven times the demand of Fair Trade coffee in 2002.
This eventually caused many organizations to close their application process to
farmers wishing to enter into their Fair Trade organizations. Thus, poor farmers
were shut out again.
I am not by any means trying to rain on Fair Trade advocates parade, nor is
this is not to say that Fair Trade is not a good idea in theory.
If people in the global market wish to purchase Fair Trade products, they
should be allowed to. The beauty about America is that you engage in any act of
consumerism even if it does hurt poorer farmers in the long run.
However, proponents of Fair Trade need to face the reality that Fair Trade
products lack economic vitality in a free global economy.