Fairtrade: What Is It?

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Hey Mavs! Have you seen the label below on the packaging of the foods you purchase?

Try this at home: go through your pantry and try to find the label above on the food packaging. How many items had the logo on it? Have you ever noticed it before? Do you know what it is? My goal is that by the end of this post, you will know more about Fairtrade and what it stands for – hopefully you’ll be on the lookout and will prefer purchasing items with the Fairtrade label over items without it.

So what is Fairtrade? Besides it being one word and not two, the Fairtrade “global organization supports businesses and challenges governments and connects farmers and workers with the people who buy their products” while ensuring fair prices, fair working conditions, and fairer deals for farmers and workers in developing countries. My favorite part of it all is that “farmers and workers have a strong voice at every level of Fairtrade”, and an equal say in its global decision-making!

You can find these Fairtrade items pretty easily, just look out for the label above. Some of the products you can find with the Fairtrade label include: coffee, bananas, tea, quinoa, honey, vegetables, rice, flowers, and even sports balls and gold! Check out the link below for a more detailed list on the Fairtrade website.

But how does it work? Check out the video I linked at the end of the post! In summary, Fairtrade standards have been developed for both producers and traders to abide by. This system of standards ensures fairness for both producers and consumers, and everyone in between. For producers, Fairtrade sets a minimum price to ensure a fair pay and act as a “safety net when market prices drop”; Fairtrade also secures the workforce with “decent working conditions” and by banning injustices like discrimination, forced labor, and child labor; Fairtrade even provides farmers with access to advance credit before harvest time in case of emergency. For consumers, Fairtrade promises that every Fairtrade-marked product “means the producers and businesses [of said product] have met the stringent Fairtrade social, economic, and environmental standards” – check out the link below to learn more about these standards/criteria.

What’s the big deal with Fairtrade? For starters, Fairtrade is one of the most diverse global movements for change. The Fairtrade Premium program provides farmers and workers with additional funds that they can use as they wish – this means they could use it to upgrade personal infrastructure or anything else they deem beneficial and “fair” for the community even. In case you haven’t already noticed, Fairtrade takes sustainability very seriously and are helping to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals through their Fairtrade system, ensuring fair prices, fair working conditions, and fair production for the environment and people alike.

I hope you take the time to browse through the links I provided below to learn a little more about the Fairtrade system. Look out for future posts about what we are doing at Maverick Dining in partnership with Fairtrade! And don’t forget to connect with us on Instagram and TikTok for more Maverick Dining content!

Love the Earth, Mavs!

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Written by: Jose Perez Vela, Sustainability Intern

Reviewed by: Carly Richter, RDN, LD

Learn more!

• What is Fairtrade? - https://www.fairtrade.net/about/what-is-fairtrade

• Fairtrade Products - https://www.fairtrade.net/product

• Fairtrade Product Classification Infographic - https://infogram.com/1pn0j35p9jj715fzdepkpemvzgbmnxm2mdj

• How does Fairtrade work? With helpful video - https://www.fairtrade.net/about/how-fairtrade-works

• About the Fairtrade Standards - https://www.fairtrade.net/standard/about

• Fairtrade Standards and Product Classification - https://www.fairtrade.net/standard/fairtrade-standards

• Key Benefits of Fairtrade - https://www.fairtrade.net/about/key-benefits-of-fairtrade

• Fairtrade Carbon Credits - https://vimeo.com/145655805