Fair Trade Certified is a designation that helps consumers recognize products from farms that provide fair labor, fair wages, fair prices, and fair business practices. Many ingredients in cosmetics are now described as being 'sourced' from Fair Trade practices. Any other benefits of Fair Trade? Plenty. Forced child labor is absolutely prohibited. Farms with organic certification are paid a premium for their products. Farmers are additionally rewarded for protecting the health of the farm workers by offering healthcare, financial incentives, women's leadership initiatives, and scholarship programs. They are also heavily encouraged to invest in their community by conforming to correct environmental standards, water conservation, and environmental education that supports healthier ecosystems.
This is a four-way-win program. The farmers win by being able to receive fair market prices with the ability to compete in the global marketplace; the workers win by being able to work in a safe environment, receive fair wages and develop a future; the consumers win by having access to better products; and, the world wins by more farms utilizing environmentally sustainable practices and doing their best to protect our planet from becoming a dead zone as a result of chemicals and toxins that translate to poison and waste. To quote one very controversial celebrity . . . Winning!
