Paul Rice, the chief executive of Fair Trade USA says that “We are after results,” he said. “We want to get things done.” But it seems that he has just fallen in with big corporations that want to “fairwash” their other unfair trade practices. Fair Trade USA’s new standards will be more lax, so that only a small percentage of the ingredients of a product has to be “fair trade”. This raises the question whether or not the small farmer co-operatives who are 100% fair trade will be at an unsustainable disadvantage because they are using a different set of rules that are more stringent and expensive to earn fair trade certification. The companies who Fairtrade USA has worked with include Wal-Mart and Starbucks, although you can go in most any Starbucks and find no brewed fair trade coffee. And Wal-Mart is erratic with it’s fair trade offerings.
Some people in the movement are talking about boycotting the new certifying mark and I am inclined to do that, too. So, if you care about the people in developing countries who are just trying to have the basics in life, you might want to consider boycotting…we have power with our pocketbooks, so let Fairtrade USA know what you think.
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