Despite fair trade's healthy and honorable intentions, and its increasing success, the brutal fact remains that the Fair Trademovement could raise its farranging market share by 1000% and still have a negligible consequent on helping poor farmers and habitancy climb out of poverty. Unfortunately the fair trade market helps the rich bet richer and the poor farmer gets the smallest slice of the pie if any pie at all.
Unfortunately plan and reality is not the same thing in terms of Fair Trade. So if you want to make a buy that in effect helps man that is a socially good thing to do buy one of the charity supported coffees that support orphans or homeless children. Unfortunately the logo is often just sold without any proof the end farmers are getting the extra money. Worse Fair Trade does not dictate any sort of income level for the farmers it supports - so rich farmers can benefit as much as the poor farmer. Think about this - which do you think has entrance or communications to find out about fair Trade - the poor farmer with no electricity or the rich farmer with Tv, cell phone, computer, internet and telephone - so huge land barons and large clubs can own the coffee farm and get Fair Trade certified? So in most cases you are only helping the rich get richer. Ever look at a map showing the location of where the address is of the F. T. Company. Does it surprise you that 90% of the clubs certified are in the Us?
Trickle Up Poverty
Here is other thought. Most third world countries the habitancy are highly poor. The richest habitancy in third world country own land. The richest of these rich own land that produces income i.e. A producing farm or mineral producing tract of land or quarry. So in that third world country by far the richest habitancy are the ones who own a farm. True they may not be rich by our standards but they are richer by far than 95% of their fellow countrymen. So if you just focus on the 5% of certified farmers who are placed in a third world in reality you are also helping the richest habitancy in that country - the habitancy who need the help the least.
Lastly and most disturbing is the enterprise that markets Fair Trade. TransFair describes its logo fees as amounting to just pennies on the pound. Those pennies add up. Last year, it generated .89 million in licensing fees from clubs that used the logo. It also spent .7 million on salaries, travel, conferences and publications for the 40-employee organization. And they Did Not donate one penny to poor farmers - the guys they are marketing to help. Now is that in effect Fair? Fair Trade - yea right!
So now why would you buy Ft connoisseur coffee? It's in effect not because its helping the poor desolate farmer you are picturing. Did you say you bought Fair Trade because the capability was better? Unfortunately just because the Fair Trade coffee costs more there is no certify or even accepted that the capability is better. In fact the opposite is true - most F. T coffees are a worse quality. There are hundreds of coffee clubs who could not sale their coffee because it was a poor quality. But that coffee enterprise then got it certified Fair Trade and wow did the sales go up. But again nothing was done to enhance its capability - all they need to do is show they are paying a higher price for the coffee - they don't have to prove who they are paying or how the money is distributed. So please check out that Fair Trade coffee before you buy them. The logo means nothing - they are in effect bought. Look at their web site for Projects and Programs they have implemented. Don't just go by the accepted "Fair Trade Marketing Ploy" that says Fair Trade helps poor farmers - find their actual farmers they are helping - check to see what farmers they are in effect helping. If not you know it's just a "bought logo". Then find you a social conscious coffee or charity coffee and feel good that you are in effect helping people.So be right with your holiday buy - please be sure your connoisseur coffee is more than a pretty wraping.
Now isn't that a staisfying cup of coffee?
Fair Trade Trickle Down Economics?
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