Fair Trade Baby Products
What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is an organized social movement and a system of exchange that honors producers, communities, consumers, and the environment. The ultimate goal of Fair Trade is to achieve a global economy rooted in people-to-people connections, justice, and sustainability.
The Fair Trade movement advocates eliminating the middleman in favor of a higher payment directly to the producers of goods. By focusing primarily on exports from developing countries to developed countries, Fair Trade Organizations are helping producers and workers in struggling communities to achieve economic self-sufficiency and stability. This strategy also encourages fair trade workers to become greater stakeholders in their own organization and to play a role in international trade. Each producer owns a portion of the business, has equal say in decisions and enjoys equal returns from the market.
In 2008 Fair Trade Certified sales were approximately $4.08 billion worldwide, a 22% increase year over year. While this is only a fraction of total world traded products, 7.5 million producers and their families are benefiting from the fair trade funded infrastructure. As more people in developed countries become aware of the option and make the choice to purchase fairly traded products, more families and communities in developing countries will see a substantial increase in their standard of living.
When you make Fair Trade purchases you are supporting:
- A Fair Price for Products: the producers of fair trade products receive a guaranteed minimum price that is 30% or more of the total retail price. The remaining retail cost covers the expense of importing the fair trade products and making these products available to the general public. For Fair Trade Certified products, the international Fair Trade Labeling Organization sets a base price. The price attempts to cover the cost of production and a living wage to cover the basics of food, shelter, clothing, education and medical care. Importers and retailers are then screened and certified by TransFair USA to ensure that they are paying the Fair Trade price for products. Crafts, apparel and other non-certified products are sold by members of the Fair Trade Federation, businesses committed to the principles of Fair Trade.
- Fair Labor Conditions: Fair Trade workers enjoy the freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Fair Trade encourages women’s participation in and leadership of cooperatives. Human rights and child labor laws are strictly enforced.
- Investment in People and Communities: Many Fair Trade producer cooperatives and artisan collectives reinvest their revenues into strengthening their businesses and their communities. In addition, for each Fair Trade product sold the cooperative also receives a set amount of money, called the social premium, which is invested in community development projects democratically chosen by the cooperative. Examples of projects funded through Fair Trade include the building of health care clinics and schools, starting scholarship funds, building housing and providing leadership training and women’s empowerment programs.
- Environmental Sustainability: Fair Trade farmers and artisans respect the natural habitat and are encouraged to engage in sustainable production methods. Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.
Thank you for being a participant in our effort to achieve a better quality of life for the children of the world. Take a moment to look at Lolli Bean’s selection of fairly traded products. At least 50% of all profits from our fair trade selection are reinvested in our fair trade partner organizations.
