Fair Trade Premium: Yes or No?
my presentation goes ahead on wednesday folks. the more information i have, the happier i’ll be!
simple, to the point. if the premium you pay in grocery stores for fair trade teas finds its way to farmers (let’s say MOSTLY seeing as every system has possible corruption points) in your opinion is it worth it to pay the extra?
yes?
no?
thank you. every answer is appreciated.
sincerely, JustJames.
In a perfect world, if the premiums go to the farmers and aren’t a “marketing ploy” then yes.
Currently I believe it is a marketing ploy and don’t really believe it’s a fair system – so right now – no
I agree with Dexter on this. I would love to pay a premium if it went back to the farmer. But I am quite skeptical about how much of that premium gets back to the farmer. I think because the term fair trade has become quite popular, it is sometimes used as a marketing ploy. The problem is, how do you know if it is a marketing ploy or not?
At this point, I don’t buy tea/other products specifically because they are labelled fair trade (or organic for the same argument), I buy a tea because I like it/want it/willing to try it.
I agree, I also think there are farmers – small businesses out there that are completely “fair trade” or “organic” but can’t afford the fees and red tape to actually get the sticker on their label. I don’t think the consumer KNOWS what is and what isn’t – therefore an unfair system how it is currently set up. IMHO
every piece of data you give me will be relayed in my presentation— anonymously, of course, but your opinions are invaluable to me. they will presented as to the community at my educational institution.
i see so much information as i research while i suspect what dexter has said, i cannot prove it on paper. neither can i disprove it. rather a cunundrum. lol.
every answer you give assist me invaluably.
thank you.
I also don’t trust the current “fair trade” system. I feel more confident relying on small companies that have relationships with the tea farmers and who want to maintain those relationships.
And I wouldn’t pay a premium for fair trade if the quality weren’t there, but assuming the tea is a quality I’d like, I’d pay some amount more for the assurance that farmers were paid fairly.
Yes, for supermarket tea (as well as coffee, chocolate, and other items that rely heavily on developing countries for sourcing) buying Fairtrade certified is the ethical thing to do. It probably is even better to buy from small companies that work directly with growers, but that’s not always an option for consumers.
Theoretically, fair trade commodities cost less and don’t cost extra – but that’s in an ideal world and it’s understandable that sometimes it costs extra.
For tea, it’s the most fair when the trade chain is short. This way the farmer gets larger portion of the profit than if the tea is transferred through layers of wholesalers and dealers. When the trade chain is short, usually the customers pay less for the tea.
For chocolates, I buy fair trade certified chocolates most of the time. They are the relatively more expensive types of chocolates, but they are not more expensive than non-fair-trade chocolates of the same quality. In this sense, I believe I pay less, not more, by choosing fair trade.
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