Why You Should Buy Fair Trade: Info from Our Nutrition Store in Eau Claire, WI

A fair trade business is one at which fair prices are paid to people in developing countries who produce the goods, or specific portions of the products.

What exactly is so beneficial about buying fair trade? From a nutrition store in Eau Claire, WI that stocks numerous products from fair trade companies, here are a few reasons you should consider making fair trade businesses a part of your shopping routine.

• It benefits small-scale producers: Companies that produce goods on a smaller scale stand to gain a lot when people make it a point to support fair trade businesses. This means more money goes toward local businesses run by families and individuals. In many cases, these small-scale producers are extremely poor, and desperately need this support. Fairtrade standards guarantee these people a minimum price for their goods and can help keep them out of even worse poverty.
• It cuts out middlemen and keeps money away from corporations: Think of how much of what you typically pay for coffee, bananas, sugars and other types of products goes to the people in between the grower and the consumer. Those middlemen can occasionally be useful, but are also often exploitative of the farmers they get their goods from. By buying fair trade, you are able to cut the middlemen out and give your money directly to the people who produced the goods. In addition, you are able to put your money toward people who need it, rather than delivering your money to the hands of massive corporations that tend to swallow up these smaller local producers.
• It’s better for the planet: While modern farming technologies have increased the production of some of our favorite goods, they have also become more harmful to the environment and to human health. Fairtrade standards require farmers to use processes that protect the environment. So if you see fair trade coffee, you can rest assured that its growers have used more natural methods and grow their crops in a way that also provides habitats for birds and insects, while also working to protect the soil and reduce pollution.
• It protects children from harmful and exploitative labor: Children 12 and older are allowed to perform some light work according to international law, but millions of children around the world are forced into long, unhealthy hours of dangerous labor, much of which happens in the agricultural industry. Fairtrade standards protect children from this abusive labor and focus on making the world a safer place for all children.
• It empowers women: A majority of the poorest people in the world are women and girls, despite women often working longer hours than men, for less pay and at worse jobs. Fairtrade pushes for women’s development, providing opportunities for them to have their work rewarded fairly while also encouraging the development of women as leaders in the workforce.

These are just a few of the biggest reasons why fair trade standards are so important in the global market, and why you should support them. For more information, contact our nutrition store in Eau Claire, WI today.

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