Newsflash: Cadbury to use Fairtrade cocoa in its Dairy Milk bar in the UK (Fairtrade–one word–is to the UK what Fair Trade–two words–is to the US).
This is big news. Enormous news. Cadbury Dairy Milk is the most popular chocolate bar in the UK. Thousands of Ghanaian cocoa growers will now be able to support themselves because of this commitment–literally tripling the volume of Fairtrade cocoa coming from Ghana.
Not to mention the pressure that this puts on other chocolate companies like Nestle and Hershey, both of which haven’t been exactly on the forefront of human rights. Even better news, big businesses are investing in Fair Trade all the time–Starbucks, Walmart and others have all started stocking fair goods.
So now we can start the day with a Fair Trade Starbucks coffee, go Fair Trade shopping at Walmart and nibble on some Fair Trade Cadbury and call it a night. This is as good as it gets, right?
Well, no.
And don’t get me wrong–if it is a choice between Cadbury selling Fair Trade chocolate or not, I of course would choose to have them do it. But let’s not confuse progress for prophecy. As people of faith, we’re not only called to see how the existing world can improve within its own confines, but envision a world where we live by different rules entirely. One where the impoverished become the greatest, the blind become the most visionary and the peacemakers end up ahead of the moneymakers.
After all, let’s not forget the story of the widow’s offering, where a widow, who gives the only two coins she has to live off of, contributes more than the rich with their abundant and generous donations. It would seem that it’s not about the size of the offering but how whole-heartedly it is made. A big company may sell millions of dollars of Fair Trade goods, but if those sales only constitute 1% of their market, is it really doing business as justly as possible?
In contrast, consider one of Boston’s very own Fair Trade vendors, like the Haley House Cafe and Bakery (profiles of Boston’s Fair Trade hot spots coming soon!). In comparison to traditional businesses, shops like the Haley House put people as a first priority. Fair Trade coffee? Of course. Organic croutons? Why not! Employing people from transitional housing to give them a chance in this world? It’s only natural.
And this is the end goal that we have to set our sights on: individuals consciously supporting companies who protect the dignity of humanity, period. Businesses that buy Fair Trade not because it’s a good PR move but because doing anything otherwise is unimaginable. That is what we have to be working for.
In the end it is going to be the tiny, local coffee shops that will be making the enormous difference.
Tyler Sit is an intern for the Boston Faith and Justice Network. He is a student at Boston University and a candidate in the United Methodist ordination process.
Yup. Furthermore, the downside to huge corporations (such as Wal-Mart) buying into Fair Trade is that it is causing organizations such as Transfair to lower their standards. Whereas the Fair Trade movement has traditionally centered around individual farmers and making an impact on one farm at a time, Transfair has certified several large plantations as "fair trade." While workers would be getting fair wages, they would not get the benefits, joys, and financial security of owning and working their own land.
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.wakeupwalmart.com/ufcw/2008/06/fair_trade_at_w_1.html