Stop and ponder the relationship we have with the unseen producers, artisans and farmers across the globe - the people who sewed your shirt, picked your coffee beans, crafted your jewelry, cultivated your cocoa and picked your morning banana. Do you think they received a fair wage, had the privilege of decent working conditions or could provide their children with an education? Unfortunately, the answer in most cases is no.
There are an estimated 1.4 billion people living in poverty and existing on less than $1.25 per day. Did you know that 15,000 children aged 9 to 12 in the Ivory Coast alone have been sold into forced labor on conventional cotton, coffee, and cocoa plantations and that 284,000 children in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon are working in hazardous tasks on conventional cocoa farms? Good news is that you can do something about this!
You can buy Fair Trade products and vote with your dollars. Fair Trade is a highly effective way to help producers help hemselves. Fair trade is not about charity. It is a holistic approach to trade and development that aims to alter the ways in which commerce is conducted, so that trade can empower the poorest of the poor.
You can now find Fair Trade Certified coffee and tea in nearly every grocery chain, in most coffee shops and in many restaurants. Just remember that every purchase matters. With fair trade products you get quality products that improve lives and protect the planet. What you spend on day-to-day goods changes an entire community's day-to-day lives.
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