Fair Trade Just Got Sweeter, Calmer
Photo by Steve Taylor/Getty Images
TransFair—the only third-party certifier of fair-trade goods in the U.S.—just introduced fair-trade-certified chamomile, hibiscus, mint, and vanilla. (The first three herbs, from two producer groups in Egypt, are part of Transfair’s fair-trade-certified tea program.)
Why fair trade?
The Fair Trade Certified label is a simple way for consumers to know that their products were produced under socially, environmentally and economically sustainable conditions. Farmers and farm workers in Fair Trade Certified producer organizations are guaranteed fair, above-market prices for their crops and fair wages; have direct market linkage with international buyers who offer reliable, long-term contracts and pre-financing; use sustainable farm management systems that protect the environment, and prohibit forced and child labor, harmful agrochemicals and GMOs; and have the right to organize and democratically decide how to best re-invest their Fair Trade premium in community and business development projects.
Where your money will be going:
The two Egyptian producer groups, Sekem Initiative and Royal Ottoman, are investing their fair-trade premium in scholarship funds and literacy programs to help lower Egypt’s illiteracy rate of more than 40 percent. To boost Egypt’s basic infrastructure and ease access to basic necessities, Sekem Initiative is also contributing funds to better housing, sanitation, and healthcare facilities, along with safe, reliable transportation. At Royal Ottoman, producers are setting up private healthcare and life insurance plans, while increasing the number of women in their workforce to 65 percent, favoring those who are the sole breadwinners of their families.
What’s up with the vanilla industry?
The vanilla market has been tumultuous since 2000, when environmental disasters and political turmoil in Madagascar and Indonesia cut supply so drastically that the world price skyrocketed. As a result, many companies switched to synthetic vanilla flavoring, just as new vanilla farmers in Africa and Latin America emerged eager to capitalize on an inflated market. Production increases combined with a drop in demand caused prices to plummet almost 90 percent since 2003, when vanilla prices peaked at around $500/kg.
While the vanilla industry is still recovering from devastating price fluctuations, many farmers are struggling to sell their crops, some even uprooting or abandoning their vanilla plants. This option is devastating for farmers who have invested considerable time establishing their crops—vanilla is perhaps the world’s most labor-intensive crop with the lowest yield, taking an average of five years between first planting the vine and producing aged extract.
Most vanilla is shade-grown, and integrated with other crops. However, this practice could soon change. A new sun-tolerant variety of vanilla has been introduced that may force sustainable, small-scale vanilla producers out of business, and further contribute to deforestation and erosion. This new variety of vanilla may also further depress prices by flooding the market with even more supply. Fair Trade Certification standards require environmental stewardship, giving value to sustainable, shade-grown vanilla.
(Emphases are mine.)
To find fair-trade-certified products, search here. (Remember to look out for the little fair-trade guy!)
