Ladies Who Launch

by Beth Sethi, Ladies Who Launch member, Portland, OR

The concept of “fair trade” often gets lumped together with the idea of “environmental sustainability,” but is there really a connection between the two? There is … and there isn’t.

Fair trade refers to an economic model in which farmers and artisans in the developing world are paid fair living wages for their products, whether it be coffee, produce, or handicrafts. Environmental sustainability refers to the protection of ecosystems so that they survive for future generations. Both terms are hot right now, and are receiving growing acceptance and recognition among mainstream consumers looking to make purchasing decisions that have a positive impact. While fair trade by its simplest definition focuses principally on the impact of economics on people, the organizations leading the fair trade movement are making efforts to ensure that the planet is also considered when placing a fair trade distinction on a product.

Coffee, Both Green and Fair

Fair trade and environmental sustainability happily coexist in most circumstances. Take coffee as an example. Fair trade coffee is purchased from small farmers who form cooperatives through which they sell their beans. Small farmers in Latin America and Asia value their land because they live on or near it and it has often been in their families for generations. Therefore they are more likely to incorporate sustainable growing practices to protect their soil and water, such as growing under a canopy of trees and using compost instead of harmful chemical pesticides. Large coffee conglomerates lack this connection to the land and typically use slash-and-burn agriculture, which requires the heavy use of chemical pesticides. This unsustainable method of growing coffee exhausts the soil within a few years, but large coffee growers can afford to move on to fresh land, whereas small farmers know they have to maintain their farms to provide for future generations.

Candles Preserving Trees

As another example, consider fair trade candles produced in Guatemala. Proyecto Eco-Quetzal (PEQ) is an environmental nonprofit concerned with supporting indigenous Mayan people to preserve their remaining native forest. Much of the forest has been lost to agricultural uses, one of the few ways the Mayan people have been able to support themselves. As a form of alternative income for the Mayans, PEQ has encouraged the production of traditional candles, which are then sold to tourists within Guatemala and exported for sale in the U.S. The candles are made from a wax extracted from the seed of the arrayan tree, one of the most common trees in the Guatemalan forest. Sales of the candles have been very brisk, providing an economic incentive to preserve the trees rather than cutting them down for farmland. Once again, fair trade goes green.

When Green Does Not Equal Fair Trade

While fair trade usually implies environmental sustainability, the reverse is not necessarily true. Just because a product has a green claim does not mean the economics behind the product are fair. Take an organic rose grown in Colombia. Of course, the organic rose proves environmentally better for the Colombian soil, water, and even for the workers who grow and process the rose. However, its “organic” label does not indicate whether or not the workers were fairly paid. Quite possibly the organic rose was prepared for shipping in the same processing plant as a conventional rose. Sometimes organic companies state a specific commitment to paying fair wages to their workers, but unless a product is clearly marked as such, it cannot be assumed that a green product is a fair trade product.

How to Select Products That Are Both Fair Trade and Green

• Find out if the company is a member of any association or certifying body (Fair Trade Federation, Transfair, or IFAT). All fair trade certifying organizations have environmental standards their members must meet, although the level of standards does vary between organizations and between products.

• For companies making fair trade or green claims but not members of a particular related organization, ask questions about who made the product, under what conditions it was made (factory vs. in-home workshop), and the source of the product’s inputs (such as recycled wood vs. virgin protected forest).

• Use common sense. If an imported, organic piece of fruit is not also marked as fair trade, it probably isn’t. Because so many people are looking for this information, companies are quick to offer it if it is indeed true of their product.

In many cases, you simply can’t know everything about a product. The bottom line is you should use whatever information you have to choose, as best you can, products that treat people fairly and care for the planet we all share.

Beth Sethi is a member of the Portland, Oregon, Incubator and co-owner of the online fair trade boutique Bambootique.