What fair trade is?
Fairtrade is important as it aims to provide fair working conditions, decent wages, and a better quality of life for workers who could be easily exploitable and protect the environments and ecosystems that provide valuable resources to the global community. It is a system of certification that ensures that standards are met.
By purchasing items that are Certified for fair trade, you help protect our natural resources and also help protect vulnerable populations. One of the key principles of fair trade is environmental sustainability. Harmful plant protection products and GMOs (genetically modified organisms)are strictly prohibited in favor of ecological farming methods that protect the health of farmers and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.
Fair Trade Organizations (supported by consumers) are actively engaged in supporting producers through increasing advocacy and campaigns to change the rules and practices of conventional international trade.
Who benefits fair trade?
Buying and supporting fair trade efforts helps marginalized people, including access to clean air and water often compromised by activities such as mining and oil. According to Oxfam, a global organization that seeks to improve the lives of people living and working in harmful conditions
Produced by mining and oil exploitation, mines damage, toxic fumes and dust it takes over local agriculture and water sources, causing cancer, birth defects, and other health issues. Mines need large amounts of water to operate and tend to crowd out crops and people who need them. Oil drilling causes the greatest damage to the environment.
Where there is oil, there is often an influx of human activity, including road building that destroys fragile ecosystems and causes the release of toxic chemicals into soil and water supplies, harming agriculture and marine life. Even more, oil wells often burn natural gas, contributing significant amounts of emissions to global warming.
By supporting Oxfam and buying fair trade products, you can be part of the solution to help the plight of indigenous peoples and also promote education on the importance of environmentally friendly production processes.
TransFair USA is another organization that explores fair trade practices and the environmental importance of buying fair trade products. According to their website, in order to receive a fair trade certification, a product must be produced under strict environmental standards that protect the environment and its inhabitants from harm.
These standards require that harmful plant protection products be kept away from fair trade crops so that soil and soil have a long lifespa, and sustainability, and protect people from contact with or ingestion of potentially harmful chemicals that can be released into the air and contribute to global warming.
TransFair USA states that Fair Trade farming practices promote the following:
Biodiversity: Forested areas are among the most threatened environments on our planet. We rely on these regions to clean the air of harmful greenhouse gases and turn them into oxygen.
In the shade: By growing coffee and cocoa in the shade, native habitats are preserved.
Organic: Although not all fair trade products are certified organic, farmers are required to practice alternative pest-control methods, eliminating a lot of the agrochemicals that pollute the air and earth.
Sustainability: Fair trade encourages a minimum of waste and the use of reusable resources like composting rather than dumping harvest waste materials.
By participating in fair trade, you protect your health and help lessen the impact of global warming caused by unsustainable methods of mining, oil drilling, and farming.
Erzsebet Frey (Eli Frey) is an ecologist and online entrepreneur with a Master of Science in Ecology from the University of Belgrade. Originally from Serbia, she has lived in Sri Lanka since 2017. Eli has worked internationally in countries like Oman, Brazil, Germany, and Sri Lanka. In 2018, she expanded into SEO and blogging, completing courses from UC Davis and Edinburgh. Eli has founded multiple websites focused on biology, ecology, environmental science, sustainable and simple living, and outdoor activities. She enjoys creating nature and simple living videos on YouTube and participates in speleology, diving, and hiking.