Fair Trade: Equitable Empowerment for the Poor
Immigration, or border crossing, into the US is becoming a hot political issue. Republicans are intent upon closing the borders and enforcing immigration law, while democrats discuss guest worker programs and citizenship for illegal immigrants. Mexico and Central America account for 3/4 of the 12 million undocumented people in the US. To the shame of Mexico and other Central American countries, they fail to create enough jobs for the population. As a result, its citizens cross borders to work in the US to send money home to their families. Although both sides of the border must work on the issue of migration, Mexico and Central America must build a better economic situation so people don't feel the need to migrate the US.
Paul Rice, the founder and president of Transfair (the only fair trade certifying organization in the US), promotes fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas, rice, flowers, and other agricultural products from Mexico and other developing nations. Rice states that Transfair's goal is to to "give people the tools and market access to lift themselves out of poverty."
Globalization has increased trade and economic growth, but often the poor receive no benefit. A viable means for economic development in impoverished nations is fair trade, the equitable empowerment for the poor. Fair trade helps to make free trade more just for farmers and artisans living in poverty. When you buy fair trade products, including handcrafts, you can rest assured that the farmers and/or artisans are receiving a livable wage for their work.
With Valentine's Day coming, buy Globally Minded fair trade jewelry on Amazon and fair trade flowers for your loved ones!
Globalization and Fair Trade
As a result of living and working in remote villages in Guatemala, I became keenly aware of the need for ethical sourcing, also known as empowering the poor through fair trade. We all know that globalization is making the world smaller, providing the opportunity for the developing world to more actively participate in global trade. What some don't know is that many products imported into the US are unethically sourced. What does unethical sourcing mean? In short, it is the concept of profits over people. Too often in the trade transaction we see businesses (large and small) demand lower and lower prices for a product, at the expense of the producers, farmers and communities where the product is sourced. Another way to look at it, in practical terms, is making money at the expense of human dignity: the utilization of child labor, poorly ventilated and lit facilities, use of known toxic chemicals, withholding pay or paying late, long working hours without breaks, and so forth.
Globally minded people care about those at "the bottom of the pyramid" and advocate for justice for the oppressed. It is the act of being a global citizen, knowing that we are all a part of the whole. We must take responsibility to ensure that people everywhere, in the US and the world, are treated with dignity and respect. Certainly, our world is far from utopia, however, we can and should make the world better by caring for the poor through ethical trading. Globally Minded is concerned for the rights of artisans in Guatemala; we care for the artisans and communities we support and abide by fair trade principles. Globalization and fair trade must go hand in hand to promote justice for all.
Support fair trade. Help the poor. Make a difference. Be globally minded.