Summary
Ensuring the credibility of the fair trade label is facilitated by short supply chains that are easier to monitor than supply chains with many links that have to be certified. [...] certified producers can sell only to certified traders, and the firm that applies the label to a final product must be licensed by one of the national initiatives and buy only from a certified producer or trader. [...] while mainstream outlets typically have greater access to consumers, they are often disinclined to aggressively promote fair trade products. [...] the job of educating consumers about fair trade products and advocating to increase demand will remain with outside groups.
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Extract
Saving the World One Cup at a Time
Fair trade, once the pet cause of social activists, has gone mainstream. As concepts like global awareness and social responsibility penetrate the mass consumer market, "fair trade" labels have spread beyond gourmet shops to neighborhood grocery stores and supermarket aisles. Wide acceptance of the idea that consumers can also help others with their purchases is changing the way we shop, drink and eat. With fair trade-labeled goods, such as coffee, the goal is to raise the incomes of small producers in developing countries by guaranteeing a "fair price" for their goods.
But are the cost-benefits of the practice as good as advertised? The jury is still out.Europe and the United States account for virtually all fair trade sales. In the United States, that means coffee. In 2006, Starbucks accounted for...See the full content of this document
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