Major Corporations Making the Switch to Fair Trade

When you're working at your minimum wage job, do you feel unappreciated? At the end of a three-hour day, is $24.00 just not enough? Well, I'd hate to put you on a guilt trip, but there are people all over the world who are not being paid well for their hard work. Fair trade was created to instill positive change in the working conditions for countries all over the world. Large companies take advantage of cheap labor to increase their profits. To counteract the injustice of cheap labor, fair trade ensures that workers are being sufficiently paid and working in adequate conditions. Millions of children are being forced into cheap labor and will exhaust themselves for over twelve hours and receive less than 20 cents a day. Fair trade follows the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which protects the best interests of children. Fair trade company's are obligated to set prices for costs of material and labor. Another vital factor that fair trade companies must agree to is no discrimination in pay. No longer will superiors mistreat diligent workers' pay on the basis of gender, race etc.

Fair trade strives for large corporations to adapt to their policies. Recently Ben and Jerry's announced plans to make their company use fair trade certified products by 2013. Ben and Jerry's is also determined to convert all their European products to fair trade standards by 2011. They began using their first fair trade certified flavor five years ago. Another well-known company that uses fair trade products is Starbucks. Starbucks has been using fair trade certified coffee for ten years. Starbucks helps farmers market fair trade coffee for United States and increase farmers' knowledge of business skills. Companies along with Starbucks and Ben and Jerry's acquiring fair trade products are making an ethical move. Their decisions make a statement against cheap labor as well as promising that the money that the average consumer is spending will be properly distributed in the company.

Fair trade is not a movement that is well publicized, in my opinion, and if fair trade could get great press people would make changes in where they spend their money. Currently, fair trade organizations are campaigning for Michelle Obama to make the White House a "Fair Trade Home". If the White House were to only use fair trade products, I believe fair trade would become a universal trend. Fair trade is not a topic that came up frequently on my Google blogging account, leading me to believe that more awareness of fair trade needs to be spread. If major corporations such as Starbucks are making the fair trade change, it is apparent that fair trade is working. Making fair trade certified products can take a few years so by no means can the world expect this change to happen fast. This will be a gradual process hopefully creating a chain effect of other major corporations to follow.

To be honest, I have never given consideration to where I spend my money. My spending habits would be based on immediate gratification and on buying inexpensive products. After researching fair trade, I feel obligated to spend my money with ethical businesses. We have the tools necessary to research whether or not a company is practicing fair trade. In particular we have the Internet at our disposal. There are no excuses. Spend your hard earned income at a place deserving of your money.

If you are interested in purchasing fair trade products check out this website!

All photos courtesy of creative common search.