Thursday, November 13, 2008
10 buck (fair trade) chuck?
Posted by Jessica Bride on Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 5:24 PM
Beginning this month Sam's Club will be selling its first Fair Trade Certified wine with a really cringy name. Neu Direction is made from 100% Malbec Grapes sourced from 20 small farms in the Lujan de Cuyo wine region near Mendoz, Argentina. It will run about $10 a bottle.
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You have probably seen the term Fair Trade Certified on coffee, flowers and maybe sugar or flour. What it means is simple and good: FTC means fair prices and guaranteed minimum floor prices to farmers. It also guarantees fair (and safe) labor conditions, eliminates unnecessary middlemen, creates and allows for representative organizations for the farmers and workers, fosters and funds community development and encourages (and sometimes demands) environmental sustainability.
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With 47 million Sam's Club members worldwide, that is a lot of potential for development of schools and medical clinics in needy places. No one in New Orleans is a stranger to how welcome that is in the world. Or next door.
Comments (3)
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Thanks for sharing the announcement, Jessica. TransFair USA is very excited about the introduction of Fair Trade Certified wine in the U.S.!
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"guaranteed minimum floor prices to farmers..." That's actually not "fair." If a farmer is willing to sell grapes of the same quality for less, why shouldn't they be the ones to win out?
Owen: I can see your point and how that stands in a free market economy. When sourcing grapes (or really any commodity) from a 2nd or 3rd world country, however, the farmers and workers do not have laws to protect them, to keep them safe. It is not perfect, but it is much better than the other option - which compromise health, safety and quality. Fair Trade helps not just a farmer to make more money, but his workers to earn more and his community to benefit as well.
