Being Fair

While this could be a post on the challenges of sharing and taking turns with twins, it's actually about the larger picture of sharing and taking turns.

Fair trade.

I hadn't given "fair trade" much thought, though I'm a coffee and tea drinker and a chocolate eater. I don't know why it was under my radar, since I am usually fairly conversant with many green and progressive ideas. Maybe because almost nothing at my usual stores carries the fair trade label, maybe because I knew my habits would have to change, maybe because I didn't think it was important?

Well, it is. And I heard all about it at church last week.

Fair trade is "a set of principles and practices that more equitably distributes wealth and provides producers and farmers with a living wage." Traditional coffee and chocolate farmers, caught in a web of global economics that deny them fair prices and exploit their back-breaking labor, "are unable to make a sustainable living, and face huge obstacles to claiming their human rights including lack of adequate housing, education, and health care." A story was told about a woman coffee grower (I want to say in Ethiopia, but I can't track down the story, one of thousands, I know) who can no longer clothe or school her children, who now must work in appallingly hard conditions to help the family, though they used to be able to hire helpers back years ago when they could get a fair price for their crop; now, they aren't even getting by. It's not just international, either. Small family farmers in this country understand the pressures and difficulties as well. And so a set of principles for fair trade, or "alternative economy," have been established:

• promote solidarity and the ethical, transparent, and co-responsible relations along the chain of production and consumption;

• value democracy, participatory ownership, and economic viability based on cooperation;

• prioritize the capacity building and empowerment of producers and workers who are marginalized by the conventional system of commercial relations;

• uphold full labor rights, including a living wage;

• advance equality and opportunity for women, racial and ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples, youth, and other marginalized communities;

• value diversity of cultures, crops, and markets;

• promote environmental justice and sustainability.

"As a consumer, when you buy fairly traded goods, you express your beliefs about how our food should be produced, and you become part of the process of creating a more just economic system."

(all quotes taken from the UUSC pages on Fair Trade)

And so, I'm changing all my brands. No more Twinnings decaf Earl Grey or Starbucks iced coffee; no more Nestle chocolate chips. And if that means I don't get decaf Earl Grey (well, there is a brand, Choice Organic Teas, but it doesn't have any bergamot flavor) or have to make special trips to find special chocolate chips, I'm willing to pay the price. Figuratively and literally, because as you can imagine, fair trade costs more and can be difficult to find. But like organic, I can see that it's worth it, even if I have to buy less of it. Why should my personal coffee habit cause actual pain to someone halfway around the world? That's a bitter brew. At least the fair trade way, my indulgences can taste good and be good.