Fair Trade

So you’re driving to work, and you stop for a steaming cup of coffee. Now that winter is fast approaching we will all be undoubtedly drawn to this wonderful beverage... if not by taste, by smell. Here in the mid-west we can appreciate it to its fullest extent. In the cold, grey, winter it brings us warm and delightful solace. But how does your choice in coffee affect the world? For most of us, we don’t give it a second thought. Where it came from and how it made it to our cups has no real relevance to us... or does it?

Many of us may have heard of or noticed the “Fair Trade” label, but have no idea what that means, or how that affects us. Since October is Fair Trade month, I wanted to share some excerpts on what exactly Fair Trade is, and how it affects us a followers of Jesus.

“According to the Fair-trade Labeling Organization International (FLO), Fair Trade is an alternative approach to conventional international trade. It is a trading partnership aimed at obtaining sustainable development for excluded and disadvantaged producers through provisions of better trading conditions. By creating direct relationships between producers and buyers, producers can get a better price and buyers are guaranteed a high-quality product. By eliminating the middlemen and exploitive buyers, Fair Trade guarantees a price, which allows for producers to cover the costs of production and sustain their family. The additional money the producers earn translates directly to social development. They can invest the money in the future of their crops and their communities.

At the same time, Fair Trade standards ensure that buyers support small producers who are organized in democratically run cooperatives that do not allow exploitive working conditions, protect the environment, and are committed to improving the quality of life in their community. By design, this rewards small farmers who support the concepts of social justice and gives them additional resources to grow, improve, and continue their socially responsible methodologies.

According to laura Raynolds, a sociologist from Colorado State University with the Fair Trade Research Group, ‘Fair Trade certification [is an] example of attempts to build alternative production and consumption networks. Fair Trade helps an increasing number of coffee drinkers align their taste for specialty coffee and values supporting social and ecological justice with enhanced options for small-scale farmer livelihoods. In this way Fair Trade certifications offer a technology to help re-embed economic relationships within social values.’

Undoubtedly, Fair Trade purchases are important and make significant differences in the lives of producer communities. However, the consumer angle of Fair Trade is just one small piece of a much broader movement. At its core, Fair Trade is not about simply buying specific products; it is about empowering communities, listening deeply to their experiences, and moving forward collaboratively to build an alternative economic structure based on dignity and sustainability.”

Joe Curnow, National Organizer and Convergence
coordinator for the United Students for Fair Trade

Most all of us agree that the teachings of Jesus compel us to help those who are poor, hurting, hungry, thirsty, etc (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 4:18). Buying Fair Trade is a way that we can tangibly help those who are struggling to make a living without simply giving them “charity,” but providing an ongoing way for them to provide for their families. A simple choice of what coffee you drink, or other Fair Trade products you buy, could make a huge difference in this world.

For more info on Fair Trade see www.transfairusa.org