Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

FAIR TRADE ... why don’t people just buy from fair-trade companies?

FAIR TRADE ...

Companies such as People Tree .. http://www.peopletree.co.uk/ ..(which has beautiful clothes btw) and the FairTrade Foundation ?

The main aims of these companies and those alike are to protect the environment, give people a decent life and to alleviate poverty in Asia, Africa and South America.

The prices are not that much different than non- fair trade companies/products. I really don’t understand why they are not more well known.

My Uncle is a traveller of India and the photos/stories he brings back are the saddest things, one is of an 84 year old women with a job that consists of breaking the nutshells of a nut for 14 hours a day to be able to look after her grandchildren whilst their parents have to work 30 miles away. He bought back a rug which had been made by her of which she insisted he should have as a free gift, off course he payed her. There are about 500 photos he’s took over 11 years and over those years nothing has improved.

It saddens and confuses me why people don’t use/buy from these companies and why they are not widely promoted. Does anybody else feel the same?

Reply 1

user settings

because it's more expensive.

Reply 2

Erich Hartmann

Because Fair Trade is an overly exploited label that for the most part isn't sustainable.

Reply 3

Vozhak

Because Fair trade does not make everything people need.......

Reply 4

BlamelessJak

I try and buy it when i can, but i'm 16. I want cheap chocolate...

Reply 5

Tony_Soprano1

Supermarkets use it to gain surplus value from its customers i.e gain higher profits from "Fair trade" products and its a less competitive enviroment unless everyones forced to adapt it. But yes it helps the user at the start!

Reply 6

miike1234

Because it's more expensive. Peoples morality takes a back to seat to money. People only buy imported goods because they're cheaper, if they became a similar price to UK produces, through fair trade, then they wouldn't be bought.

Also, India has been improving significantly over the last 10 years. Their economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, 200 million have become middle class and that number is expected to triple by 2015.

For the same reason Aldi and Lidl are still in business. Because it's cheaper to avoid anything fair trade. Hell, my dad had some fair trade chocolate powder and I complained to him because it costs more. I asked him why he got it, he said 'gives more money to the suppliers'. I said 'who gives a flying **** about those people?'. Next week, cheaper chocolate. Great success!