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Fair Trade Gives People a Fair Chance

When you shop, do you ever stop to think of the individual hands that crafted the particular products you are purchasing? With today’s global market, products arrive at our doorstep from all over the world, including numerous third world countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, many of the farmers and laborers producing these products live in extreme poverty – victims of a system that takes advantage of the world’s poor. These men, women, and even children are forced to work long hours under dangerous conditions for extremely low wages. Struggling to feed their families while others profit, these workers are faced with a life of never-ending poverty.

The Fair Trade movement began in response to this unjust treatment of disadvantaged workers in developing countries. Evolving since the 1940s, this growing social movement has been gaining increased momentum over the last several years.

What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is an alternative to traditional international trade practices and ensures sustainable relationships between producers and consumers by:

• paying fair living wages for a worker’s locale
• encouraging safe, healthy working conditions
• prohibiting forced child or slave labor
• promoting environmentally sustainable practices
• maintaining stable, long-term trade agreements
  

Fair Trade products include coffee, tea, cocoa, rice, bananas, sugar, honey, clothing, jewelry, and crafts. Currently, Fair Trade certification is only available for agricultural products, but other companies supporting Fair Trade practices can be identified through their membership in the Fair Trade Federation.

What Can You Do?
Look for the Fair Trade certification label on products when shopping and support companies who promote Fair Trade principles. As a consumer, you can make a difference by choosing to purchase goods produced in an ethical fashion. As consumers demand more Fair Trade products, the market will have to respond. While Fair Trade products may be slightly more expensive, they cost much less in the area of human suffering and environmental damage. So the next time you are shopping, remember you have the opportunity to change a person’s life for the better – buy Fair Trade.