By: Julie Fahnestock Note from the author: I hope you’ve enjoyed this series thus far. Many thanks to those of you who have posted very engaging comments and questions. It’s so great to see the energy around this movement. I love being part of it and it seems that millions of others do too. And, I think the debate and disagreement [...]
By: Julie Fahnestock Part 3 of a multi-series post (read part 1 and part 2) (Please note: This posting critiques the fair trade industry at the close of 2011. As of January 2012, Fair Trade USA revised their standards and the current standards will be discussed in a future posting. Click on the link at the bottom of the post to [...]
By: Julie Fahnestock Part 2 of a multi-series post The majority of consumers who consider themselves “ethical shoppers” are most likely to be familiar with the term, “fair trade.” An ethical consumer is also likely to know about the history of exploitation of small farmers behind the coffee, bananas, sugar and tea industries. The average, ethical consumer, however, is unlikely [...]
By: Julie Fahnestock Part 1 of a multi-post series. You’ve learned about the slavery behind food, apparel and well, almost everything you consume. You’ve decided to make some lifestyle choices and invest into more expensive, ethical products. You’ve heard fair trade ensures equitable wages for farmers. Whole Foods is down the street and you know they offer multiple fair trade products. [...]
Read Part One Read Part Two Read Part Three Consumers are faced with a choice between a Fair Trade Certified product and a non-certified product every day. The Fair Trade movement of products has not been solely a niche market movement, but an effort has been made to network and mainstream products (Ruben, 2008). Fair Trade has also been discussed as [...]
