October is Fair Trade Month!

October is a month that houses many important holidays (Halloween) and observational days of national import (Halloween), but there are other important hallmarks of time to pay attention to. Namely, the fact that October is Fair Trade Month.

To all of you staring at me blankly, allow me to explain. Fair Trade is a collection of certified products that are produced and sold without slave labor. When you buy “Fair Trade,” you are ensuring that:

  • The people who created the product are being paid a living wage
  • Child labor was not involved
  • The money is reinvested into the community
Image courtesy of Fair Trade USA.
Image courtesy of Fair Trade USA.

The idea of fair trade is so much more than a trend (like hemp milk and non-prescription glasses); it is an actual movement that could change the world. Imagine knowing that the products you consume aren’t harming other people! And I’m certainly not here to bash anybody who buys non-fair trade products. I get it. We live in a global economy, and the idea that millions of people in countries we’ve never seen or possibly  haven’t even heard of  making roughly 90% of what we own is hard to wrap your head around. You barely glance at the “Made in Taiwan” or “Made in Indonesia” labels on your clothes because it doesn’t really mean anything to us anymore. It’s hard to be socially conscious of something we’ve been oblivious to for all of our lives.

So the way I see it is that we have to wake up and realize, “Gee, a lot of products made overseas are done so at a terrible cost to human lives.” Then, realize the good news: We can do something about it! When you choose to buy products with the certified Fair Trade label on it, you are guaranteed that whoever made it was paid fairly.  You aren’t perpetrating a cycle of injustice, and you are actually actively helping people.

Head to Fair Trade USA and learn more about how you can play your small part in changing the world!

 

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