Hey, do you know why fair trade is still relevant in today's society? You might think that fair trade is just a niche market for ethical consumers, but it actually has a huge impact on the lives of millions of farmers and workers around the world. Here are some interesting stats that show why fair trade matters and why we should support it more.
- Fair trade certified products sell over $10 billion annually. However, this is still only about 0.02% of the world's total consumer spending. Imagine how much more we could do if we increased our demand for fair trade products!
- Fair trade certified producer groups employed around 2 million farmers and laborers in 2019-2020. These producers received over €200 million in Fair trade Premium, which is an extra sum of money that they can invest in their communities and businesses.
- Fair trade includes approximately 1,880 fair trade certified producer organizations in 71 countries across 19 product categories. These include coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, sugar, cotton, flowers, gold and more.
- Fair trade has been shown to have positive effects on the income, empowerment, environmental sustainability and resilience of farmers and workers. For example, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Fair trade coffee certification increased household income by 8% and reduced poverty by 4% in Colombia.
These are just some of the facts that show why fair trade is still relevant and important in today's society. By choosing fair trade products, we can make a difference for the people who produce the goods we enjoy every day. Fair trade is not just a label, it's a movement for social justice and environmental protection.
Sources:
: https://socialjusticeresourcecenter.org/facts-and-figures/fair-trade-facts-figures/
: https://www.fairtrade.net/library/2019-2020-annual-report
: https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what-is-fairtrade/facts-and-figures-about-fairtrade/
: https://www.nber.org/reporter/2019number2/economics-fair-trade
