3 ms·

I didn't watch the video after reading the description. But this problem of poor worker conditions (and poor compensation) is true of so many goods produced che

I didn't watch the video after reading the description. But this problem of poor worker conditions (and poor compensation) is true of so many goods produced cheaply in China or other countries in Asia. I feel we in the "West" (i.e North America, Western Europe) have an ambivalent attitude towards this issue. We decry the outsourcing of manufacturing to other countries, yet we're only too happy to continue purchasing those goods. We might say we are prepared to pay more for quality and standards, but our endless consumption of all these cheap products suggests otherwise. What's more, we fawn over some technology companies and take such an uncritical view of their behaviour over the production of their goods (because we love their products) when we should in fact be far more critical. On a more positive note, there are schemes like Fairtrade that have gained favour with the public. Fairtrade guarantees a fair price to producers of mostly food products. It's not perfect, but a product with a Fairtrade mark provides some re-assurance that the product you buy meets certain ethical standards. Encouragingy, Fairtrade goods are popular with the public too: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/mar/02/fairtrade-taste-growing-britain http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/mar/02/fairtrade-taste-...

mseebach 13y ago
The problem is Fair Trade is that it distorts the price signal in the market (obviously, that's the point). But the reason coffee is so cheap is that there is an oversupply - artificially raising the prices extends the problem, it doesn't solve it (by making some farmers realise they can compete better by switching crops). If you want to help, buy expensive, high end coffee - most of it will be Fair Trade anyway, so I can't say "instead of Fair Trade". But getting the default, supermarket brand coffee that's 10% more expensive than the non-Fair Trade option damages more than it helps. Also, I remember reading somewhere that Fair Trade places some irrelevant constraints on suppliers, such as the size of the supplier. I can't find a reference, so it might be wrong, but if it's not, then that suggests that pandering to western, urban romantic fantasies about rural life plays an inappropriate role in the scheme as well.
- jiggy2011 13y ago
  I think fairtrade suppliers are all cooperatives. Though in many cases I've found fairtrade brands not to be significantly more expense (sometimes cheaper even) than mainstream brands of similar quality.

mseebach 13y ago

The problem is Fair Trade is that it distorts the price signal in the market (obviously, that's the point). But the reason coffee is so cheap is that there is an oversupply - artificially raising the prices extends the problem, it doesn't solve it (by making some farmers realise they can compete better by switching crops). If you want to help, buy expensive, high end coffee - most of it will be Fair Trade anyway, so I can't say "instead of Fair Trade". But getting the default, supermarket brand coffee that's 10% more expensive than the non-Fair Trade option damages more than it helps. Also, I remember reading somewhere that Fair Trade places some irrelevant constraints on suppliers, such as the size of the supplier. I can't find a reference, so it might be wrong, but if it's not, then that suggests that pandering to western, urban romantic fantasies about rural life plays an inappropriate role in the scheme as well.

jiggy2011 13y ago
I think fairtrade suppliers are all cooperatives. Though in many cases I've found fairtrade brands not to be significantly more expense (sometimes cheaper even) than mainstream brands of similar quality.