Yesterday I spent some time getting these fair trade coffee and cocoa items ready for sale at our church this Sunday. There is a world of difference between free trade and fair trade. While promoted by the US government and the world trade organization, free trade means that corporations will profit and producers will suffer. Since we have been promoting free trade, American workers have lost their jobs. They were shipped overseas. And overseas, workers are often no better off than slaves were in the early years of the United States. You might ponder or research how your made in China Christmas presents were actually made.
Fair Trade is a bright spot in the economic world. I could be cynical and say it doesn't have a chance. But I prefer to be hopful. In the wonderful world of coffee, over 4,300 Lutheran congregations sold more than 99 tons of fair trade coffee last year. Fair Trade means being fair to the grower. Lutherans aren't the only ones doing this. Check out this site for more information: http://www.equalexchange.com/interfaith/
2 comments:
I didn't know they had cocoa. Tell me more.
It goes for $5.80. Mrs. Sandhu likes it.
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