May 9, 2021 by Sydney Skow
According to Fair Trade Campaigns, the United States consumes 29% of the world’s resources despite making up only 5% of the world’s population. This makes the US the largest consumer nation in the world. However, this cycle of product consumption is not always an ethical one; the fair trade industry has arisen as a way to transform our consumption cycle and the way we think about buying and selling products. The ultimate goal of fair trade is to develop equitable trading partnerships while continuing economic growth.
In the U.S., there are a few different fair trade symbols seen on packaging. Each of these symbols correlate to a fair trade certification and connected organization that has approved those products according to their standards. The World Fair Trade Organization, Fairtrade International, Fair Trade USA, Fair Trade America, Fair for Life, and Naturland are just a few of the over 25 different organizations with their own certifications. Fair trade certifiers all agree on these basic principles:
long-term direct trading relationships
payment of fair prices
no child, forced or otherwise exploited labor
workplace non-discrimination, gender equity and freedom of association
democratic and transparent organizations
safe working conditions and reasonable work hours
investment in community development projects
environmental sustainability
traceability and transparency
Different fair trade organizations’ certificates can be found on many products
Net Impact, Cal Poly’s sustainable business club, includes a committee dedicated to Fair Trade. Over the past school year, this committee has focused their work on a Fair Trade Campaign for the city of San Luis Obispo.
Grace Burnite, Vice President of the Fair Trade committee, describes the industry, “Fair trade is a global movement made up of consumers, advocates, businesses. Trying to put the people behind the products and their values first….that fair trade certification shows that throughout the production process the workers and the environment are being taken into account and thought of, in an environment and process that is not typically transparent.”
Ultimately, groups pushing for more fair trade certified products are urging for greater transparency in the production process. Burnite explains, “Overall objective of the fair trade committee is to educate people.. Get them thinking about where they are purchasing their products and where those products are coming from...helping people understand that they are voting with their dollar.”
Though it’s been difficult to engage in conversations about Fair Trade and sustainability in business over the course of this stressful and complicated year, this committee has managed to work through the steps laid out by Fair Trades Campaigns to achieve fair-trade recognized status for San Luis Obispo. Ultimately, the committee has pushed San Luis Obispo to sign a proclamation at their May 4th City Council meeting recognizing the second Saturday in May as World Fair Trade Day and the entire month of October as Fair Trade Month.
This proclamation is more general than a resolution, the committee’s original (and continued) goal. However, it still gives them an acknowledged platform to educate and inform people. Kaile Camacho, the incoming VP of the Fair Trade committee for the 2021-22 school year, says “We want to continue expanding our committee and hosting educational events that increase awareness of fair trade.”
In downtown San Luis Obispo, the stores HumanKind and the SLO Yoga Center store carry a variety of fair trade products. The SLO Food Co-Op, Whole Foods, and Sprouts Market are also carriers of a number of fair trade products. However, with this proclamation, the Fair Trade Committee is hoping that businesses in downtown San Luis Obispo are encouraged to carry more fair trade products and support ethical producers.
Dana Geffner, co-founder and Executive Director of the Fair World Project, says “Fair trade as a solidarity movement that’s working with small-scale producers in the global South is extremely important to the world.” Geffner and a group of other activists came together to create the Fair World Project as an advocacy organization for truly ethical fair trade. They recognized that “at the time, Fair Trade USA was the only fair-trade certification in the US. They were dictating the dialogue around fair trade. They were prioritizing companies like Starbucks and Avon, who have very minimal fair trade products. They weren’t prioritizing the brands that were pioneers in the fair trade movement, people who were really innovative and working in solidarity with farmers on the ground.”
Geffner emphasizes the importance of legislation to ensure that fair trade certifiers continue to adhere to the basic principles of the movement. She says, “The market cannot fix everything on its own...If we don’t work on policy that is effective and works for everybody, these market-based initiatives aren’t going to work.” Geffner argues that legislation is much more critical to building an equitable society than solely market-based initiatives. This is why the Fair World Project is focused on cracking down on different fair trade certifications who have too loose of standards.
The fair trade industry has changed drastically over the course of the last 50 years, but people like Geffner are confident that organizations and certifiers are listening to their criticisms and taking them into consideration moving forward. One certifier that strives to exhibit all of the principles of fair trade in the most transparent way possible is Fair Trade America. Fair Trade America is 50% owned by its producers, giving them the autonomy to craft proper, ethical standards and have open discussions.
Moving forward, it is crucial that San Luis Obispo and other fair trade recognized cities throughout the U.S. continue to bring in more fair trade products, especially from organizations that are interested in the principles of fair trade, not just their bottom line.
Resources to learn more: For A Better World podcast and the documentary The True Cost.
If you’re interested in Fair Trade and want to know more, check out their website to fill out the interest form and get involved.