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1 Fair Trade Business Administration / University of the People PHIL 1404-01 Ethics and Social Responsibility - AY2024-T2 Dana Hoyle, Instructor Dec 19, 2023
2 Fair Trade Buying fair trade products can be beneficial to a large number of stakeholders. It reflects a high awareness of consumers towards social welfare and environmental conservation. Fair trade protects workers and farmers from being exploited, and it contributes to protecting the environment and embracing sustainable approaches to production as well. However, one of the most important products in which the topic of fair trade is discussed is coffee. That is because coffee is broadly traded globally, “Coffee is one of the most traded commodities in the world, with massive global consumption rates and rising demands for luxury coffee exports, such as the renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain beans” (Adnett, 2023). Therefore, the impact of fair trade on farmers and the environment is significant. Besides, fair trade is not always an effective approach that ensures farmers’ welfare, and the need for alternative approaches is imperative. Moreover, consumers have different opinions on whether to purchase fair trade products or not. Reducing child labor and conserving the environment are among the essential reasons to support fair trade products. Reasons behind the willingness to buy fair trade coffee The world's tendency to appreciate the concept of fair trade is growing and the demand for fair trade products is increasing as well. This tendency lies in the importance of considering the farmers' welfare, the bad economic conditions they suffer, and the difficulty they encounter in planting and harvesting many products including coffee, “Fair trade is meant to empower manufacturers and farmers in developing nations by providing them with privileged access to socially conscious consumers in the developed world” (Byars & Stanberry, 2019).    Reinforcing the concept of fair-trade products can be through participating in purchasing fair trade coffee. From my perspective as a customer, purchasing fair trade coffee can contribute to
3 achieving equity among producers. My participation can also contribute to better societies around the world. Farmers would be able to have access to healthcare institutions when they are fairly paid, their children can access schools, and investors would find it fairly profitable to expand their business in the coffee industry.  The improvement of those aspects would also encourage increasing employment. Discouraged workers due to unfair payments or unsuitable job positions would find the coffee industry alluring. The demand for workers and employees from different educational backgrounds would increase due to the potential increase in exports. Improvement in the country’s microeconomy and macroeconomy would lead to an increase the government investment and improving infrastructure as well. A suggestion for achieving the objectives of improving the lives of developing-country farmers and producers other than the Fair-Trade approach   It is imperative to think of another approach for achieving what we expect fair trade to achieve. The importance lies in the difficulty of verifying, monitoring, and controlling the criteria of fair-trade products due to their variations and differences, “One of the reasons for the complexity of the fair-trade system is that there is no universal fair-trade authority” (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). In addition, there is a limitation of this approach for ensuring that farmers are paid enough cash due to investing money at a macroeconomic level or in ineffective projects from the farmers’ perspectives.  Achieving the objectives of improving the lives of developing-country farmers can be done through a long-term contract with those farmers who are classified as the most sustainable ones. Besides, importers can make long-term partnership programs that involve those farmers and workers in activities that secure them a source of livelihood in case of sharp decrees in the
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4 price of coffees or other essential products; for example, importers, wholesalers, retailers, and other players in developed countries markets can individually or through national or regional organization develop an online website that links consumers directly with those farmers. Consumers can observe and evaluate live videos of farming operations, farmers' workplace conditions, and quality criteria. Consumers might donate or enroll in monthly programs that support those farmers. Additionally, by establishing a regional or an international organization that monitors the transactions between exporters and importers and develops a database that categorizes the exported quota, the capacity of production, the level of compliance to sustainability, and other aspects. This data analysis helps consumers make informed decisions about who deserves more support than another. For example, a farmer that has a capacity to produce one ton of coffee monthly, and only sells 20% of their sustainable coffee, should be given the priority to purchase from them compared to another farmer who has the same capacity and sustainability level but sells only 90% of their harvest.  However, while this seems to be a complex procedure, establishing local organizations in the developing countries that show case and reflect the local farms and markets data can help their counterparts in developed countries control the importation process in a way achieve equity. Moreover, to ease this procedure, small farms can unite to form a large coalition. Estimating their overall production capacity and sales and sharing data with the local organizations for more accuracy.    Reasons why consumers buy fair trade products One of the most important reasons why consumers buy fair trade products is to refrain from purchasing products from farmers who use child labor. In developing countries, a large
5 number of children do not go to school due to financial reasons. Besides, farm owners might exploit their conditions by offering them too low wages and exposing them to illegal work conditions, “It is estimated that 244 million children and youth between the ages of 6 and 18 worldwide were out of school in 2021, of which 118.5 million were girls and 125.5 million were boys” (unesco, n.d.).  Also, social responsibilities are among the reasons for buying fair trade products. Consumers can contribute to social responsibilities in developing countries as traders invest a proportion of their revenue from selling fair-trade products in those countries (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). In addition to the social responsibilities, consumers buy fair trade products for environmental issues. While farmers are not forced to use high standards of agriculture and organic farming, they still need to control some of the most influential and detrimental materials that harm the environment (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). That can help farmers with limited fund to use their available resources and technology, as well as, it increases their awareness of the environmental aspect.  To conclude, fair trade products have played several roles in shaping trade and allocating benefits to different stakeholders. While purchasing fair trade products can contribute to social responsibilities and higher environmental considerations, they are still not defined as very efficient in doing so. Alternatives to the fair-trade approach might be the establishment of regional organizations to work together in both developing and developed countries. This coordination along with publishing data regarding suppliers and producers involved in fair trade on the official website can help consumers make informed decisions. However, consumers are more aware today of the contribution of fair trade to eradicate poverty, reduce child labor, reinforce equity, and secure education and healthcare institutions in developing countries.      
6 References Adnett, P. (2023, March 3). Commodity in Focus – coffee . The Institute of Export and International Trade. https://www.export.org.uk/news/633648/Commodity-in-Focus-- coffee.htm#:~:text=Coffee%20is%20one%20of%20the,renowned%20Jamaican%20Blue %20Mountain%20beans . Byars, S. M., & Stanberry, K. (2019). 8. Fair trade . Pressbooks. https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/good-corporation-bad-corporation/chapter/8-fair- trade/ unesco. (n.d.). Out-of-school numbers are growing in sub-Saharan Africa . Unesco. https://www.unesco.org/gem-report/en/2022-out-school
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