OK, here's my plan. Writing a 'catch-up' post is going to take some time, so I'm going to write it later at some point when I have gobs of time. I promise I'll write it, but, for now, I'm going to move on as if I didn't miss 4 posts this week.
Today, I bought fair trade chocolate. It's delicious. You can taste the justice in it.
Fair trade basically means that goods go from the artisan to you the buyer with few steps in between and, most importantly, everyone involved in the creation and distribution of the goods is paid a fair and livable wage. Fair trade respects workers, provides a sustainable way of life for developing communities, supports preservation of the environment, and empowers women and minorities. It is also anti-slavery and anti-child labor.
Most people see slavery and child labor as problems of the past. In truth, however, an estimated 30 million people are enslaved worldwide today. This means that more people are enslaved today than there were when slavery was legal. Many commonly purchased goods, such as chocolate, use slavery and child labor at various points in the supply chain. The cocoa industry, including suppliers of companies like Hershey's, employs over 100,000 children thousands of whom are slaves. That's not to mention the workers who are simply forced to work excruciating hours and not paid a wage they can survive on. Purchasing these goods condones these practices.
Buying fair trade ensures that you are not supporting oppression of any type. Fair trade chocolate costs only $1-2 more than non fair-trade chocolate. Plus, it's delicious. By being willing to pay a little more for fair trade, we ensure that others can lead lives of better quality in freedom and that children can be children. Is saving $1 on chocolate worth enslaving others for life? Is my life worth so much more than theirs?
Note: Organic products are not necessarily fair trade.
Find fair trade products here
fair trade federation
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