Fair trade seeks to give workers in poorer countries a fair share of the profit from the goods that they produce. Is it important to buy fair trade products?
**Today, less and less companies produce in western countries. Instead, productions of material goods have been shifted from industrialized to so-called low-wage countries. This has concrete reasons: companies can be produced at lower costs and they can at the same time sell their products at a good price for consumers. That sounds good at first, but there is a catch. The consequences of cheap production are exploitation of people and workers and also of the environment and resources. People live in abject poverty. Often their children have to work because wages do not cover living expenses. Thereby these people have no access to basic health care and education. Not only does a broad crowd of the producer for our goods exposed cheap labor they are also in contact with a lot of toxic chemicals. That applies to the production of denim fabrics for example. To address this situation and to think of the interests of the developing nations, you can help with the purchase of Fair Trade products. Fair Trade offers a direct and easy way to improve the situation of producers. By buying fair trade products, consumers can contribute to socially, economically or environmentally sustainable production and at the same time also to take a stand against modern slavery. Sure, Fair Trade has disadvantages. The seal is also assigned if only a part complies with the production of the fair trade conditions. In addition there are reduced choice of products and fair trade is mostly more expensive as normal products. It is also important to noted that certification by seal is very expensive for companies. That means that products without Fair Trade seal could be fairly traded.
Nonetheless we are living in a world with a growing gap between rich and poor countries. The simple choice of what cocoa or coffee you buy can mean the difference between life and death for some of the world's poorest people. If people spend their money for Fair Trade products as for commercial companies that companies goes bankrupt and they are compelled to produce Fair Trade. Demand determines supply. As people who belong to the ‘’rich’’ of this world, it should be a concern for us to help the poor. To pay attention to our consumer behavior is a first and very helpful step towards justice. ** #### Headline ####
