Preview

Fair Trade

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1623 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Fair Trade
Jason Pomey
4/14/2012
English Composition
Prof Morkert
Where it all began

What is fair trade? Where did it start? Who started it and why? Believe it or not, fair trade has been around for a long time. Fair trade is the practice of directly benefiting producers in the developing world by buying straight from them at a guaranteed price. (thefreedictionary.com) Most items that we buy are not made in the U.S, their made in different countries and most of the time the producers are getting ripped off. Talking about fair trade for today isn’t the vocal point of this essay. Let’s go back in time and see how fair trade got started and how it spread throughout the world. The UK started fair trade about 40 years ago, which a movement began to regulate imported products. As what was said, fair trade began about 40 years ago in the UK but nobody knew about is because fair trade wasn’t a hot topic to talk about. (Fair Trade Foundation) Back then the UK where on to something because they saw how unfairly the producers of the products were being treated and how they were not being paid right. Fair trade may have been around previously but a formal labeling didn’t come out the 1980’s. (Fair trade foundation) The labeling just consists of a little symbol and fair trade is written on the bottom of each object. The label was actually named Max Havelaar who is a fictional Dutch character who opposed the exploitation of coffee pickers in the Dutch colonies. (More Fairly Labeled) Under the Dutch development agency of Solidaridad the first Fair Trade coffee with the Max Havelaar label was brought from Mexico and was sold in Dutch colonies. This started a movement in other countries throughout the world like the U.S., Canada, and Japan. They felt the need to join and use the label because they wanted to make sure that there products went through the Fair trade process the correct way. In 1992 The Fairtrade Foundation was established by CAFOD. (Fair-trade) The vision

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The small but ever growing social movement, fair trade, attempts to oppose commodity fetishism and provide another option for the capitalist society is obstructed by the differences among all the participants of fairtrade in terms of their perceptions, intentions and interpretations of what constitutes “fair”. According to Kharel and Middendorf (2015) There are many differences among all the participants of fair trade at all levels in terms of their perceptions and interpretations of fair trade” (p. 255). Firstly there are certifying organizations such as FLO (Fairtrade Labelling International) and WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization) that act as governing bodies. These organizations developed a “Charter of fair trade principles” to relay a consistent definition and guidelines of those pursuing fair trade activities…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Splendid Exchange

    • 698 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Splendid Exchange is an inside look at how trade has had an impact on human development. The book answers the questions of how trade developed, how it expanded, and how trade is an essential economic force. The author, William J. Bernstein, explains how trade almost always benefits the nations that engage in it, but only when averaged over the entire national economy. The push for to trade is been a part of our history, and new patterns of trade always produce advantages and disadvantages. Bernstein explains that from a historical standpoint, which has been going on for centuries. For example, tea parties protesting taxes have been going on throughout history. The historical Boston Tea Party had almost nothing to do with taxes; to a certain extent, it was a protectionist reaction by middlemen and smugglers cut out of the tea trade by the decision to allow the East India Company to directly market its products in the colonies. This stunt launched the American Revolutionary War.…

    • 698 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jessica VEAL

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The increasing popularity of fair trade has drawn criticism for a variety of reasons. Supporters and…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Free Trade

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why should countries engage in international trade rather than remaining self-sufficient and avoiding the unfair competition of low-paid foreign workers?…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Case Study

    • 2618 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Free trade is the only type of truly fair trade because it offers consumers the most choices and the best opportunities to improve their standard of living. It fosters competition, spurring companies to innovate and develop better products and to bring more of their goods and services to market, keeping prices low and quality high in order to retain or increase their market share.…

    • 2618 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Grankvist, G. & Lekedal H. 2007. Values and eco- and fair-trade labeled products. British food Journal. 109 (2), 170-178.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As free-trade agreements spread around the globe, and encompass more developing countries, the pressure to reduce health, safety, and environmental as well as wage standards will grow more intense. The authors look to America's own history of interstate trade to provide a guide that might help us maintain standards around the world.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fair trade is very valuable in today’s world. Part of the Fair Trade mission statement on their website is “Keeping families, local economies, the natural environment, and the larger community strong today and for generations to come; these are the results we seek through Fair Trade.” The goal of fair trade is seen as good to act utilitarianism because it accomplishes promoting happiness by keeping importing and exporting trade fair for all. In our book, act utilitarianism states “promoting the greatest amount of overall utility is what makes a particular act morally right (112). In Case 1 from Chapter One: The Real Price of Coffee it addresses full-sun production of coffee. Full-sun plantations are farms that grow coffee without the shade…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Free trade has become one of the most controversial subjects of modern times. Though despite its challenges, the positive role it has been playing in the lives of millions of people around the world is commendable. It gives us access to new foods, products and experiences, and creates economic opportunity and markets. Free trade also allows countries to specialize in the production of goods that they have a comparative advantage and trading them for goods in which they have a comparative disadvantage. When countries engage in such trade, they can have more of both goods, which is a good deal. It also make the world a better place because more places will be able…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Fair Trade Coffee

    • 3330 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Question 2: Do you agree with the finding that few consumers consider the impact of their purchase decisions on anyone or anything but themselves and their family?…

    • 3330 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    4.Some argue that Fairtrade is simply a way for developed countries to appear to be doing their bit to help out underdeveloped and developing countries, when in fact it is just keeping them in a market system, that won’t actually allow them the long term freedom to break free of their low economical standards. A prime example being the previously mentioned point, that many farmers don’t actually see the economical benefits of the eventual profits made by retailers in developed…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ...conservative commentator Philip Oppenheim...argued recently that in Britain, it's supermarkets that profit most from fair trade sales. They charge a premium for fair trade bananas, for example, while a "minuscule sliver ends up with the people the movement is designed to help"...…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The foundations of the fair-trade movement are built upon the producers, the famers, who everyone who participates in the coffee market relies upon. Their main principles are market access for marginalized producers, sustainable and equitable trading relationships, capacity building and empowerment, and consumer awareness raising and advocacy. These principles are instated to protect the famers from greatly fluctuating prices and the volatility of the product they grow. In many areas of the world, the consumers do not know how their coffee is created, and this ignorance is the basis of the fair-trade movement.…

    • 827 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fair Trade is a charitable organisation that was founded in 1992 in order to promote sustainable production whilst fulfilling the farmer’s full potential in a fair and ethical way. Fair Trade have become a successful and well-known brand in a relatively short space of time, with Fair Trade products being sold in more than 125 countries and UK figures on Fair Trade sales reaching £1.5 billion in 2012.(Fair Trade ) Part of the reason Fair Trade has been so successful is the way it entices consumers with its positive message of helping the disadvantaged producers and creating wholesome, organic food. Fair Trade produce often comes with a higher price tag than normal, with bananas on average costing on average £1.20 for 6, and non-Fair Trade bananas costing £1.00 for 10. Despite this, 1 in 3 bananas sold are Fair Trade and 44% of bagged sugar sold is also Fair Trade, this shows that people are often willing to match the higher price tag when a product is more ethically produced. (Fair Trade Statistics)…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women may be afraid of strangers, but it's a husband, a lover, a boyfriend, or someone they know who is most likely to hurt them. According to a U.S. Justice Department study, two-thirds of violent attacks against women are committed by someone the woman knows. In the United States, one of the most dangerous places for a woman is her own home. Approximately 1,500 women are killed each year by husbands or boyfriends. About 2 million men per year beat their partners, according to the F.B.I.…

    • 917 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics