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A funny viral video for Fair Trade, using implicit sex

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Cotton from Fair Trade

How the Fairtrade premium is changing lives for cotton farmers in Cameroon.

How to cultivate it ?

Cotton is obtained from plants of the Gossypium genus, native to tropical and subtropical climates; most cotton grown currently comes from Gossypium hirsutum species, as it yields the best fibers.

After blooming, seeds appear inside a capsule full of fibers; when ripe, it opens to form the boll. Farmers pick these bolls and remove seeds from them by a process called ginning; once seeds and other residues are removed, cotton becomes almost pure cellulose fiber and it is packed to enter the mill.

A cotton mill is a place where fibers are carded to form a sliver so as to get them better aligned for spinning. Spinners produce the cotton thread which is then weaved into a textile; finally, the textile is ready to make clothing with it.

Similarly to other colonial crops, like coffee or cocoa, cotton is the main source of income for several South countries, and is the only crop for large groups of farmers. Cotton is today the most widespread vegetal textile around the world.

Fair Trade helps the rich

Fair Trade is profitable for traders in rich countries.

It is also aimed at richer farmers: in order to join Fairtrade, cooperatives must meet quality and political standards which means their farmers must be relatively skilful, educated and well capitalized, and critics point out that these farmers are, therefore, far from the poorest farmers.

The majority of Fairtrade suppliers are in the higher income or middle income Third World countries, such as Costa Rica and Mexico, with relatively few in the poorest countries. Mexico has 70 times the GNP per head of Sierra Leone. The minimum wage of agricultural workers in Peru is $3 a day and the average income of Fairtrade farmers in Bolivia was US$900/year, very much higher than normal agricultural incomes in Africa and much of Asia. Again, critics say this is diverting money from the poorest farmers.

Organic and fair trade chocolate

Organic, fair trade chocolate made in Hawaii, featuring Hawaiian grown cacao and ingredients as well as cacao and flavors from the birthplace of chocolate.

Featuring chocolate makers David Elliott and Nat Bletter. Raising funds to purchase fair trade cacao directly from a cacao co-operative in southern Mexico. Small batch, artisanal, hand made chocolate

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Czech Wikipedia for th week, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ethical basis of criticisms

Consumers are willing to pay more for Fairtrade products in the belief that this helps the very poor.The main ethical criterion of critics of Fairtrade is that this money is diverted from the very poor farmers to businesses in rich countries, to moderately poor farmers, to employees of cooperatives or are used for unnecessary expenses—and some critics argue that this necessarily results in death and destitution.This informs criticisms that there is reason to doubt that much of the extra money paid reaches farmers, and that there is reason to believe that Fairtrade harms non-Fairtrade farmers. There are criticisms of what is designated Unfair Trading under EU law. There are also criticisms using many other criteria.

On the other hand, a pro-Fairtrade researcher claims out that while some of these criticisms are grounded in acceptable standards of evidence (and deserve serious attention), others are less well elaborated, and tha in a few cases, criticisms remain assertions with little or no credible evidence to support them, and are strongly questioned. However, these papers have been criticized on matters of fact, theory, methodology and citations

Fair Trade Coffee

• Fair trade coffee is coffee which is purchased directly from the growers for a higher price than standard coffee. Fair trade coffee is one of many fair trade certified products available around the world.

• The purpose of fair trade is to promote healthier working conditions and greater economic incentive for producers. Coffee farmers producing fair trade certified coffee are required to be part of a co-op with other local growers. The coops determine how the premiums from fair trade coffee will be spent. Growers are guaranteed a minimum price for the coffee, and if market prices exceed the minimum, they receive a per pound premium.

• Trade coffee has become increasingly popular over the last 10 years, and is now offered at most places coffee is sold

Coffee (Photo credit: Dechno-bow)

Fair Trade: How does it work?

Businesses that would like to adopt Fair Trade practices have to purchase certification licenses. The international Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) sends representatives to the farms from which the products are purchased and ensures that the farmers adhere to the procedures outlined in the Fair Trade standards. FLO or one of its 19 National Initiatives (NI), also audits the supply chain for the product to ensure that the Fair Trade prices have been paid. After successful completion of the process, the product is certified and the Fair Trade label can be displayed on it. Products marked by the Fair Trade label contain 100% Fair Trade certified contents.
The importer and the processor have to pay the costs for acquiring the license. The farmer himself does not have to carry the burden. However, it is worth noting, that some co-operatives encompass all these functions, therefore indirectly the farmer does end up paying. The FLO as well as its NI are registered nonprofit organizations. They are constantly being monitored by an independent Boards of Trustees. Therefore, consumers can be quite certain that these organizations adhere to their standards as impartial and nonpartisan.

Consumers have the power to help small producers

An informative video about fair trade, its procedures and impact in the world. Find out what your power as a consumer is!

Ten fair trade principles

This is an introductory video of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and its 10 Fair Trade Principles. The clips in the video are taken during the 2011 Biennial Global Conference of the WFTO in Mombasa, Kenya last 23-26 May 2011.

Note that this video illustates one on my previous post: 10 Principles of Fair Trade

Every purchase matters

When you buy Fair Trade Certified goods, you are making a choice that means quality products, improved lives and environmental protection. Every purchase matters. Consumers, by purchasing Fair Trade products can change this inequity in the world.