Green Side Out - The green lifestyle

In the last thirty years fair trade products have begun to assume a notable place in today’s economy. These goods, which range from coffee and ice cream to clothing, have grown to account for up to twenty percent of sales in their respective categories. Huge national markets such as Target and Costco make these products easily accessible but many people still do not know what exactly fair trade is.

Fair trade is a system of exporting goods that is designed to ensure farmers and crafters are getting fair treatment and fair pay for their labors. A guaranteed minimum price is set for harvests and crafts with a bonus focused on organically grown crops. Many times these profits are invested in the global projects such as organic certifications and improved quality ratings. This helps to increase the world wide standard of exports. A safe environment is provided for the creation and completion of fair trade products. Chemicals that are harmful to workers and the environment are unacceptable in fair trade organizations. The safety of the workers and the workplace takes top priority.

Aside from focusing on the safety of the workers, the overall conservation of the environment is key. Taking products in high demand that are created by large companies in pollution inducing factories and making them more economical is one of the bases of fair trade products. Cities in Mexico and South America hand weave beautiful fabrics, grow carefully cultivated flowers and crops and stitch professional grade sports balls.

Because individuals work on these products, rather than having them cultivated in and shipped from factories the cost of these items are often lower than competitors in the same categories. There are no shareholders or stocks in multinational companies, the farmers and weavers are the shareholders. Prices for fair trade products are competitive in todays markets. More importantly the profit from these goods goes back into the community that creates them.

The Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International was created in 1997 as an umbrella corporation to ensure quality among the fair trade community. They set out to support, inspect and certify disadvantaged producers. In 2002 FLO created labels that help to identify official fair trade products in over fifty countries and on dozens of different products. The label created by TransfairUSA has become a beacon of authority in the U.S., ensuring farmers get fair price for their goods.

Increase in the fair trade market has sky rocketed in the last ten years. FLO-CERT (the inspection and certification presence) has certified 632 producer organizations in 58 in developing countries as of December 2007.

Fair trade and fair trade products have revolutionized the market and will continue to do so for years to come. Following the recent increase in productivity in the fair trade market this is a greatly beneficial system that will only continue to grow and expand in years to come.