Fairtrade

A FairTrade banana with the certification sticker on it. Yum.

As ethical Vegans, we tend to be more cognizant of our consumer choices and the effects that they may have on humans, animals, and the environment. When we go Vegan when we understand we are making a conscious decision where we spend our money to ensure that it isn't causing any harm, and this tends to extend to our choices as consumers and individuals in general. There are tons of things we can do in our lives not only to reduce our harm, but also do good in the world (aside from going vegan), such as making efforts to reduce our carbon footprints, voting and keeping in contact with representatives, working productive jobs that fulfill an important societal need, donating money to effective charities, being a strong, positive support on others and our communities, work on educating the public on how to live more ethically, engage in activist endeavors, and try being the best examples we can be for others to follow.

And of course a part of being an ethical consumer is making sure we buy from companies that are themselves ethical, and not engaging in harm or exploitation of their workers. In light of this concern, the certification of Fairtrade has come about, with the goal of providing people who produce commodities (very often food) with better pay and working conditions to give consumers the ability to support farmers in poor countries. While this certainly has noble intentions, and seems like an integral part of being an ethical consumer, there come complexities and nuances to Fairtrade that may make it not so fair after all.

Similar to how Organic Foods advertise themselves to be healthier and better for the environment and the animals but are often the same in terms of nutrition and are often worse for the environment and the animals, Fairtrade is often not a very useful investment if you're interested in helping producers in poor countries.

Issues

Hard to receive certification

As you may expect, something like FairTrade comes with tons of regulations and standards, many of which set incredibly high bars. These regulations include no use of child labor, engage in environmentally sustainable practices, allow workplace democracy, ensure safe working conditions, pay a certain minimum wage, and so on. This all seems fair and reasonable, and it seems obvious that buying commodities produced in this manner is fair and ethical and a huge net positive, and a step up compared to buying from other farmers. However, there's a serious caveat.

For poor farmers, these regulations are incredibly difficult to meet (since they come with costs they can't afford), meaning that the people who would hypothetically benefit the most from this aren't able to get certified. Since the larger, better-off organizations are the ones who are able to afford it, this means buying Fairtrade goods supports farmers who are already wealthier comparatively, and who therefore don't need the extra money as much as the poorer ones who can't afford it, which is ironic considering that it's meant to help the less well-off. Generally, these farmers will be from wealthier countries, particularly Latin American countries such as Mexico, Belize, and Argentina. While things aren't great in these countries economically, they're MUCH better off than the world's poorest countries, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. Not that Latin America don't need the extra money, but one dollar to them is worth much less than to someone living in Ethiopia.

Compensation of farmers

With some exceptions, FairTrade items are more expensive than their counterparts.

Should it be avoided?

Despite the problems listed, this doesn't necessarily mean that purchasing Fairtrade products is harmful, just that it isn't the best or most altruistic means of helping workers in developing countries. There may be a small positive impact, but it isn't necessarily unethical to buy the non-Fairtrade version of the same thing. If you really enjoy the product and have money to spare, then it isn't really a problem. If you really enjoy that premium coffee, don't let us stop you.

If you really want to help the global poor though, a much more effective means of doing so involves buying the cheaper version of the product and donating the saved money to a cost-effective charity that is dedicated for such a thing, or better yet, animal charities that will not only help animals, but also humans by preventing climate change, and improving food security.

Another way to help out developing countries, albeit counterintuitive is purchasing Sweatshop Products. It does seem odd for an ethical consumer to be buying such products that were made in such horrid working conditions, but the important thing to take note of, is that these jobs are the best ones available for these people, and providing people with these jobs is one of the most effective ways we can lift them out of poverty, allowing them to feed their families and send their children to school, along with raising their living standards on top of that.

The caveat is, buying these products only helps those in countries that have sweatshops, which are wealthier developing countries that have enough stability for multinational corporations to want to invest in, such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, and many countries in Latin America. The world's poorest people tend to live in unstable countries prone to war and other disasters (not good for business), so again the best way to help these people are the effective charities linked earlier.