Fair trade labeling started with the intention of helping small farmers in developing countries gain access to world markets. Poor farmers were isolated from markets in the developing world, and fair trade organizations helped them with this problem. Large farms and plantations do not need as much help, because large corporations, such as Starbucks and Wal-Mart, often source from them. Fair Trade USA has abandoned the original intentions of the fair trade movement. They have decided to change their certification standards. No longer will small farms be the only recipients of the fair trade label.
Until now, Fair Trade USA only certified smaller farms and farming cooperatives. Also, the fair trade label was only given to products that had a minimum of 20 percent fair trade ingredients. Fair Trade USA recently expanded certification to larger coffee farms and plantations. They also only require that products contain 10 percent of fair trade ingredients.
This new fair trade certification has the potential to damage small farmers. There is a risk that these farmers with less access to world markets will be outcompeted by larger plantations. Critics of these changes are upset because larger farms already have access to major markets, so they do not need the fair trade certification to prosper.
There is also a risk that large plantations may try to get by with including the minimum amount of fair trade ingredients in a product. The integrity of fair trade is at risk. Can an item that contains only 10 percent of fair trade products truly be considered fair trade?
As a food collective that sells fair trade products, we have to be conscious of these changes to fair trade standards. There will be more fair trade labels competing with one another and claiming different things. These competing labels may be confusing for people who are conscious about where their food comes from. We want to ensure that we are supporting small farmers, so we are going to have to take a critical look at our fair trade products.
