Becoming an Ethical Consumer with Fair Trade

For my final project at the Freedom Center a couple weeks ago, I chose to do a gallery talk for visitors to the “Invisible” (Modern Day Slavery) exhibit. One of the requests I saw frequently on visitor feedback sheets was the desire for the exhibit to be more interactive; this is a heavy topic and many people have questions. I could speak about anything I wanted to for the gallery talk, but I chose fair trade to tie in with a Freedom Market we had in late July and to let people feel like they could enact real change in their daily lives. I want to share some of the points I made because I’m passionate about fair trade and it’s an increasingly common strategy to alleviate trafficking and global poverty!

Since going to India three years ago and spending time with human trafficking survivors, I’ve been looking for ways to get involved in the fight back home. I’ve mentioned this before in a previous post by explaining my role in clubs at college, but recently I’ve become aware of my personal habits and how I can fight not just sex trafficking but all forms of trafficking.

I’ve also sewn since I was a kid and have always loved fashion. As I’ve become more knowledgeable over the years about how laborious it can be to sew clothing from scratch, I started to wonder more about where my clothes come from and how they’re made. I’ll be mostly discussing here about fair trade clothing because it’s harder to find fair trade clothes and home goods than it is to find fair trade food (in Whole Foods or the organic section of Kroger, for example).

Forced Labor

According to the Global Slavery Index, there are 45.8 million slaves in the world today and over two-thirds of those slaves are victims of forced labor, with more victims of bonded labor and child labor as well. Forced Labor is obtaining and transporting of a person for labor through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or slavery.

Although many of us can claim that we’re not part of the “problem” of slavery because we don’t pay for sex or contribute to the sex trafficking industry, almost all of us are part of the problem of forced labor. Forced labor is the type of enslavement used across the world to produce many products in our global supply chains. The desire to produce a profit is the largest motivating force behind the institution of slavery.

One of the cheapest methods of labor is through children. 70% of the world’s chocolate comes from West Africa, where 2 million children are forced to harvest cocoa beans with machetes. These cocoa beans are bought by major companies such as Nestlé and Hershey’s to be manufactured into the chocolate bars we buy at the grocery store. Feels uncomfortable, right? Even American-made goods have the potential to be produced by forced labor, particularly by migrant workers susceptible to debt bondage. Read more about the efforts of the Fair Foods Program to provide a living wage to migrant tomato pickers in Florida.

Fair Trade

Fair trade is more than just paying a laborer a fair wage. Fair trade is a reciprocal partnership based on mutual respect that allows us to buy the products we love without taking advantage of the people who make them. Through fair trade, the prices paid to producers reflect the work they do, producers share decision-making power, the national health, safety, and wage laws are enforced, and products are environmentally sustainable and conserve natural resources.

If you’re familiar with fair trade, you may think of small shops such as Global Gifts or Ten Thousand Villages where you can buy artisan salad bowls or colorful skirts. Although these shops are great and Ten Thousand Villages continues to be one of the leading fair trade nonprofits, sometimes it’s not practical to buy a colorful throw pillow or incense all the time. Luckily, fair trade has expanded substantially in the past 30 years to include retail items you’d buy every day. Target has a line of fair trade rugs and fair trade wine, for example!

Another important aspect of fair trade is survivor-made goods. These products are created by former human trafficking victims who have since been rescued and are employed by fair trade organizations in order to build equity for a life after slavery. This ensures they are financially stable, rise above poverty status, and not susceptible to being trafficked again. Many fair trade brands, my favorite being Freeset, are made by survivors of sex trafficking. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself: Do you know the story of the seamstress who made the clothes you’re wearing right now? Is it our responsibility to make sure our favorite brands aren’t exploiting their workers? This post isn’t about how companies and corporations are evil and capitalism is bad, but about the unfortunate reality that many companies and governments have failed to maintain transparency for the sake of creating products cheaply and efficiently. Because many companies have put products before people, it becomes the responsibility of the consumer to hold these companies and these governments accountable for human rights abuses. 

Myths

There are some common myths and misconceptions associated with fair trade that I’d like to start off debunking:

1.Myth: Fair trade costs more

So, of course a $2.50 t-shirt at Forever 21 is going to be way cheaper than fair trade. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself how much the seamstress is making from that item if it only cost you $2.50? Generally, however, when we’re talking about items made at a comparable level of quality (Nike versus Patagonia, for example), fair trade shouldn’t be that much, if at all, more expensive. This is because fair trade organizations work directly with producers to cut out those middlemen. The organizations wear many hats to do the designing, production, distribution, and marketing of products in order to lower cost, because that’s mostly what you’re paying for anyway in non-fair trade products–hardly any of the retail price is reflected by labor.

2. Myth: Fair trade is charity

Fair trade is actually one of the most effective ways to break poverty, but does not rely on handouts, because it’s an equitable system of business or social enterprise where artisans get paid a fair wage and are treated with dignity and respect. Fair trade includes a social premiums such as educational resources, micro-loans, and steady employment that lift up the community. Additionally, artisans are paid immediately upon creating a product, which gives them financial security and peace of mind no matter whether that product sells or not.

3. Myth: Fair trade takes away jobs from the US

Living in an economy where laborers are not paid a fair wage almost ensures that these jobs will not come back to the US, so why not try something better? Most of the things we buy or consume are not made in the US, and many products or raw materials such as coffee and chocolate cannot be grown in the US anyway.  There are jobs in the US that are a product of slave labor, however. The garment industry in Los Angeles, for example, is rife with exploitative working conditions.

I believe that it should be our responsibility as citizens of a developed nation to make sure that workers around the world, and in our own country, are receiving fair compensation for the products they make for us. Fair trade is meant to even the scales and give those laborers a fair chance at a healthy and prosperous life

4. Myth: Fair trade is anti-globalization/capitalism

International exchange lies at the heart of fair trade. Fair Trade organizations seek to maximize the positive elements of globalization that connect people, communities, and cultures through products and ideas. At the same time, they seek to minimize the negative elements that result in lower labor, social, and environmental standards which hide the true costs of production.

Building a Fair Trade Wardrobe

So now I’m going to shift to practical advice about clothing and how you can create a fair trade wardrobe. If you hate shopping or aren’t really into fashion, then this may actually be easier for you! Here are Five Ways to Build a Slave-Free Closet:

1.Support Ethical Brands

Your purchases do matter in the fight against slavery! Since slavery is all about demand, changing your buying habits can change the way companies respond to that demand. Thirty years ago, fair trade products and companies barely existed. Today, there are even fair trade stores in the mall, such as the beauty store Lush. Patagonia is fair trade! Puma has a fair trade line! This is where “dollar voting” comes in: there’s a quote that says “every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the type of world you want.” Check out these fair trade retailers and start shopping!

2. Shop Less, Choose Better

I encourage you to embrace a more minimalist lifestyle and only buy the things you love or need, not the things you want “just because.” If you have kids, this may seem impractical, so start small. Talk with your family about one or two things you can live without this month. In terms of clothing, this action fights what’s called “fast fashion,” which is the turnout of thousands of tons of clothing every day. Did you know in the retail world there’s 52 seasons in a year? That means every week, every store is replacing their entire inventory. Where do all those clothes go? Mostly to landfills. Americans throw out 15 million tons of clothing a year–this is unacceptable. By shopping less, less junk ends up in our basements, our houses, our landfills, and our lives.

3. Quality over Quantity

Shopping less and choosing better is similar to buying quality products over quantity. Remember, though: Highly expensive clothing doesn’t mean fair trade. In fact, you shouldn’t be paying that much, or any, more for fair trade products. A seamstress may still receive 50 cents for sewing a pair of $30 jeans or $100 jeans. Instead, in terms of quality, you should think about clothing in terms of “value per wear.” Although not fair trade certified, the shoe brand Birkenstock sources ethical materials for its sandals and has a transparent production process. The shoes are a similar price to a new pair of Nikes ($80-100) and will last for years. If you wear your Birkenstocks 100 times, that’s $1 per wear. If you buy a $10 pair of sandals to go with one outfit and wear them once, that’s $10 per wear. Think less about the upfront cost and more about the longevity of the product.

4. Buy Vintage or Second Hand

Although the brands you buy at thrift stores may not have been originally produced fair trade, buying used and well-loved clothing is both great for the environment and fights that fast-fashion production that throws away thousands of tons of clothing every day. Thrift stores employ communities, generate a billion dollars of revenue for the U.S. annually, and defer clothing from landfills. Being an eco-friendly consumer goes hand-in-hand with fair trade!  

5. Value the Clothes You Have

Finally, embracing the fair trade lifestyle is not an excuse to throw out everything you already own–that only increases your trash output and doesn’t help the problem. You already bought it, so throwing it out now won’t empower laborers. Instead, hold onto the items you love and donate the rest or swap with a friend. Slowly phasing out to mostly or only buying fair trade clothing makes the transition to fair trade easier.

How To Tell if a Product is Fair Trade

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if an item in the store is fair trade or not. There are many labels, mostly on food and drink that you’ll see in stores like Whole Foods. The three main labels are from Fair Trade USA, Fair for Life, and Fair Trade International. Each organization has its own methods of creating transparency in supply chains, but they all have the same goal of conveying to the consumer that most or all of what you buy in that particular product is made without slave labor.

It’s harder to tell if clothing or home goods are fair trade, however, because the textile industry is a much more complicated process. There are many more steps that go into producing a coat or a pair of pants than there is in picking tomatoes. The three main fair trade labels haven’t entirely expanded into clothing and home goods, and it’s still difficult to find fair trade clothing in places like the mall. Instead, you’ll have to do a bit of your own research and find reliable, fair trade retailers that are both certified and clearly explain their production process. Once you’re able to find a few of these stores, it’s easier to go from there. For example, Patagonia and Columbia are well-known clothing brands that actually are fair-trade certified, and many more companies are expanding to fair trade “collections.”

If you want more options, the Freedom Center’s website End Slavery Now has a downloadable Slave Free Buying Guide that gives many specific product options for ethical food, drink, home goods, and apparel. Additionally, you can check out your Slavery Footprint or download the app Sweat and Toil that shows you various products and countries that produce those products and whether they use forced or child labor. Next time you go to the store, you can avoid buying a certain product made in that country.

What You Can Do Today

All of this may seem overwhelming. So, I encourage you to choose one or two items to buy fair trade from now on. You don’t have to completely turn your life upside down for fair trade, so starting small and only buying fair trade coffee or only buying fair trade shoes is a manageable way to get involved in this movement. Additionally, starting to shop second-hand or locally are also great options. Lastly, if you want to get even more involved, donate your money or time to a fair trade organization or an organization combating human trafficking. There are hundreds of organizations listed on the End Slavery Now website to check out.

I hope you join the fight in ending slavery!