Laura Montgomery recently gave an important Worship Associate sermon on Fair Trade problems and the Fair World Project (FWP) that works to correct them. Equal Exchange Coffee and other products we provide in the church are fine, but don’t count on others. Here’s the story:
Certified organic foods have adopted legally enforceable standards, but no such standards exist for Fair Trade. Responsible manufacturers ensure that their claims of fair trade production are independently verified under a reputable third party Fair Trade certification program.
Existing certifiers and member organizations of Fair Trade, however, vary in their criteria and qualification of products and brands. FWP cuts through politics in order to catalyze ‘fair trade’ products, promoting certification of rigorous standards and consideration of local context of a project. Family farmers and farm workers in North America and Europe often confront unfairly volatile prices, wages and working conditions. We need “Domestic Fair Trade.”
FWP was launched by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) in 2010 to promote real “fair trade” in commerce and protect the term from dilution and misuse. It is also designed to protect family farmers and farm workers in North America and Europe against unfairly volatile prices, wages and working conditions.
As conscious consumers, we can help promote economic justice, sustainable development and meaningful exchange between the Global South and North. Thanks for your watchful eyes and actions on this. For more information, see http://fairworldproject.org/.