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Fair Trade and Middle Class values
Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 09:22 AM

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All TopicsAlthough I think Fair Trade is a good idea I am convinced it often does little more than making middle class people feel good about being rich!

Can you afford to buy Fair Trade? I can and often try to. It makes me feel good as if I am making the world a better place! The problem, as I see it , is that I can do this because I have a middle class job that is paid a good middle class wage.

Have you ever thought about how 'fair' some Fair Trade products are? Have a look at one of the Fair Trade museli bars, often there is less than 30% that is actually Fair Trade. Having gained the logo the product can then be sold at a much higher price attracting those who have money to buy and feel good about themselves. I often wonder as I pay the cashier at the supermarket for my ethically sound products, how ethically sound it is that she or he is getting paid so poorly?

I believe in Fair Trade, in one sense, but as long as some have wealth and others don't we will continue to pretend we are making a difference. What we really need is a stronger political will to make equality a reality. That would mean I have less and others more. It doesn't mean I have more to make the choice to pretend I am making poverty history.

Oh and by the way before everyone starts going on about some commune in India benefitting from Fair Trade. Think about what you are saying. Do you think they are being helped enough to have an equal standard of living as ourselves or that they can eat a decent meal or send their kids to school. We fool ourselves!




 
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Fair Trade and Middle Class values | Log-in or register a new user account | 11 Comments
  
Comments are statements made by the person that posted them.
They do not necessarily represent the opinions of the site editor.
Re: Fair Trade and Middle Class values (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Apr 23, 2006 - 10:14 PM
Buying fair-trade bananas at my local co-op doesn�t cost me an arm or a leg, and doesn�t particularly make me feel good about myself either.

I think i would actually have to take an active role in the set-up of growing and selling to feel good about my self if that was what I wanted from Fair Trade. Anyway just walking by my local market square and noticing how now more than three or five years ago there are more fair-trade logos makes me think that there is a rising in awareness over the trade-debate and disputes.

Awareness at the least I don�t consider a bad thing though I agree that more can be done on a political level. Then again who voted for our political government to govern us again?

>>Have a look at one of the Fair Trade museli bars, often there is less than 30% that is actually Fair Trade.<<

I didnt actually get this statement, do you care to further elaborate on this please?

Provocative and timely article anyway

Lk


Re: Fair Trade and Middle Class values (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Apr 28, 2006 - 01:55 PM
>>I often wonder as I pay the cashier at the supermarket for my ethically sound products, how ethically sound it is that she or he is getting paid so poorly? <<



Alright this seems to be trying to relate the campaign for ethical payment of lowly paid local, and domestic growers of commodities in economically impoverished places to an average to above minimum wage fixed pay store worker in one of the five richest nations in the world. Interesting. And since when did the fair trade debate become an argument for higher employee pay in a department store?

what good would that do the fair trade cause if the cashier at Tesco can now afford to buy a BMW like any middle-class Jane?


What???? (Score: 1)
by ~wave~ on May 02, 2006 - 09:37 PM

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I can't help but feel this is a silly thing to worry about.

You have these huge multinationals making money exploiting people and you are worried about buying fair trade??

I confess to being firmly in that middle class bracket and in this area a little hypocritical (e.g. I still buy some Nestle products every now and then) but your worried about the brand fair trade?

When more and more people become fair trade - their will be more awareness and people will want to know more and so then there will be a new faire trade maybe Fairer trade etc. In the mean time we show our support where we put our money - local produce, multinationals or fair trade.


Re: Fair Trade and Middle Class values (Score: 1)
by Midge (-)
on May 02, 2006 - 09:38 PM
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I agree with you pretty much. I'm glad that Fair Trade products are available and increasingly prominent, that I have the choice of buying coffee that wasn't bought at the cheapest possible price from the growers but a price that was agreed in advance so they could plan for the future.

But like with other 'charity' things, it's not much good if we stop there. It's easy to send money and food to help poor people, and salve your conscience, and not do anything to try and change their situation more permanently.

And like that TV documentary said, some supermarkets seem to see it as a good opportunity to take an extra slice of profit out of us. On the other hand, are Fair Trade products really that much more expensive than other ones? I hadn't noticed much difference. E.g. Fair Trade chocolate - you can get much cheaper chocolate, but if you want something of the same quality, you have to pay about the same price.


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