The cup of coffee you enjoy every morning could help a small-scale family farmer escape poverty. The lotion you put on your hands could put school supplies into the hands of orphaned children in need of an education.

The Fair Trade Movement does these things and so much more by certifying products made by farmers in developing countries who in turn positively influence their communities.

When companies buy fair-trade products, they pay a premium on top of the base price of the good. This money goes toward community development in the region where the product is grown or produced.

Take for example Green Mountain Coffee, the world’s largest purchaser of fair-trade coffee in the world. Every pound of organically grown coffee purchased by a company such as Green Mountain Coffee costs 50 cents. Of this price, 20 cents goes to community development and the remaining 30 cents is given to the farmers who grow the coffee.

In 2011, fair-trade premiums gave about $22 million to farmers and farm workers. These farmers voted to put the money towards new schools, health care facilities and improved equipment to increase the efficiency and quality of their farming operations.

In order to display the stamp of Fair Trade approval on their products, farmers and businesses must meet a set of high standards. These include workplace safety, freedom from discrimination, fair wage levels, absolutely no child labor, responsible waste management and strict rules against the use of toxic chemicals and GMOs.

Participating in the Fair Trade Movement is as easy as being a conscious shopper.

The black and green fair trade certification stamp is easy to recognize, and with 12,000 products bearing this label at more than 100,000 retail locations across North America, consumers will have no trouble finding fair trade items to satisfy a large portion of items on their shopping lists.

Whether they are looking for sports balls or a fine bottle of wine, there are cooperatives, independent small farmers and farm workers in 70 developing countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean producing the goods they need in an ethical and sustainable manner.

– Grace Flaherty 

Sources: Fair Trade USA, NY Times
Photo: The Guardian