There has been a tremendous growth in Fair Trade product sales in the U.S. This graph shows the increase from 1998-2010 for coffee, tea and cocoa, with coffee being by far the largest fair trade item. The growth of fair trade is very heartening – it’s good to know that so many people are willing to pay a bit extra if it means that fair trade producers are earning a fairer price.
At the same time, there is a danger that Fair Trade standards are being watered down to include practices that are non-democratic or shut out and undermine small farmers. An example of this is the inclusion in Fair Trade of plantation grown tea, where workers are often tied to the plantation through some combination of a loan, custom or force, otherwise known as bonded labor. Furthermore, the large plantation producers already dominate the tea market and giving them the Fair Trade blessing makes it very difficult for small farmers to compete. Today, the major Fair Trade certifier, FairTrade USA, is granting plantations access to all the categories, including coffee, cocoa and sugar, thereby expanding the threats to small farmer co-ops.
People can support Fair Trade that prioritizes the empowerment of small producers and democratic management and ownership by seeking out the firms that have long-demonstrated a commitment to Fair Trade principles and small farmers such as any member of the Fair Trade Federation.
Created by CPE Member Economist Emily Kawano
November 2011
Sources:
Fair Trade Almanac 2010, http://www.fairtradeusa.org/sites/default/files/Almanac%202010_0.pdf
Srivastava, Ravi S., “Bonded Labor in India: Its Incidence and Pattern,” International Labor Organization (2005). Forced Labor, Paper 18, ILO publication
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/forcedlabor/18
Q&A on Fairtrade International and Fair Trade USA, Fairtrade International, http://www.fairtrade.net/897.html
