Fair trade encourages businesses to embrace ethical supply chains and encourage customers to shop more ethically, empower and form an opportunity for those at a disadvantage and suffer from existing improper systems.
This guide would like to explain why people need to buy fair trade wholesale products and how every purchase of such products can positively impact the people who make the products. There are multiple benefits of buying such products.
The People behind the Product
The people behind the fair trade products, such as the maker, the artisan, the producer, and the craftsperson, do the hard work to learn the skills to create the products that we enjoy.
Though slavery and trafficking are still present today, things have improved lately. But some people are still forced into unfair working conditions and are not even given basic human rights, including those who create the products.
Problems with the Traditional System
Some problems are involved with the traditional system; some of them are:
• Improper supply chain
One of the problems with traditional product manufacturing is that various points of supply chains lead to less communication between the producers and the businesses that sell their products.
It is common for businesses that sell the products and the consumers to have very little about who made the products or how they were even made. This is due to the fact that businesses only work with the distributor.
• Unbalanced working conditions
Many businesses set up their manufacturing to lower the cost of production and increase profit. But sometimes, it ends up being wrong and puts profits above people. This is why fair trade wholesale products need to be brought as they do not follow such practices.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there have been some problems in off shoring manufacturing for such industries. But things have started to improve lately, and workers are treated with more care and are paid better.
But the following things can happen due to bad working conditions:
1. Workers underpaid
2. Unsafe and improper working environment
3. Denying basic human rights
4. Little or no opportunities for people who have physical or mental disabilities
5. Trafficking
Sometimes businesses do not share what happens behind closed doors as it could negatively impact their credibility and reputation. It is quite easy to discredit all the hard work and effort that goes into making such products.
But in recent times, the mentality of businesses is slowly improving, and now they worry about their workers as much as they worry about their products. Before, businesses and consumers only used to worry about the product rather than wanting to know what goes behind the scenes.
The Difference that Fair Trade Brings
The best thing about buying fair trade wholesale products is not only about avoiding unethical business practices and other wrong things but empowering the ones who are at a disadvantage. Fair trade is mostly focused on empowering workers who might be mentally and physically challenged.
It also helps to involve employees in the decision-making process and if the product designs or other vital decisions must be taken. It is important to build contact and relationship with the workers so that they can be supported during any form of crisis.
Benefits of Buying Fair Trade Products
There are many benefits of supporting fair trade; some of these benefits are as follows:
• You will help in contributing to improving the lives of workers
When you shop for fair trade products, you will help improve the lives of workers. With easy purchasing choices, farmers in developing countries can get improved deals, giving them more autonomy and independence.
They can also control their future and lead a good, dignified life like every other individual. There are no living wages for agricultural workers in various countries, allowing employers to underpay their workers poorly.
Also, large-scale producers might be struggling with less profit and, as a result of that, cannot pay a living wage. Fair trade certified companies need to pay proper wages to help fight poverty and aid workers from being exploited for their hard work.
• Workers can be in safe working conditions
The International Labor Organization defines child labor as work that can be physically, mentally, and socially dangerous as well as harmful to children. It could even interfere with their schooling and deprive them of the opportunity of going to school.
This leads to them leaving school before time, and some need to combine school attendance with heavy and long work. There are close to 152 million children who are victims of child labor across the world, and about 48% of them are between the age of five to eleven years old.
Half of those children work in risky environments, which is not much of a good thing. Fair trade products are made in a safe and healthy working environment that helps to stop and minimize forced labor and gullible child labor.
Though it is not possible to guarantee that there is no child labor anywhere in the supply chain, fairtrade foundations are committed to taking fast actions when it is the need to protect affected children with the aid of national child protection agencies.
Such foundations also work with the producer organization to enhance the process of preventing child labor from occurring again. If it cannot be fixed, then it could lead to suspension and decertification. This is easily an essential reason you need to purchase fair trade wholesale products.
• High-quality products
Fair trade certification and high-quality handmade goods are often identical. This means there is a good amount of attention to detail and care of products than mass-produced high street goods that are very common.
There is a false notion that the minimum price safety net of fair trade products is equal to there having no incentive for workers to farm good quality coffee beans. But high-quality products help to attract high prices, and it is a win-win situation. A good quality product has a positive effect on global studies.
• Fair trade products are not expensive
As per research, over half the customers are willing to pay more for humane products. But not all the companies whose primary marketing strategy is sustainable and fair practices are aware of this; most of them charge significantly higher prices to exploit their shoppers.
There is also a common misunderstanding that fair trade certified products are expensive, but it is not true. Inexpensive mainstream brands and supermarket labels own close to 5,000 fair tradecertified products.
Many supermarkets have their own verified coffee and tea. Those who need a bargain can also have other options as well. This makes it easier to find your favorite brands.
• Fair trade is sustainable
Environmental protection is one of the main elements of the fair trade foundation’s basic principles that encourage sustainable impact that reduces the impact on the environment. Training is given to farmers who can encourage and establish environmentally friendly practices.
This can help to reduce changes in climate and safeguard biodiversity. Many farmers use rainwater, opting for biogas/renewable energy sources, planting trees, investing in pest management, and dynamic agro forestry.
• It is not hard to get involved
When you buy fair trade wholesale products and choose an ethical option when you can, identifying it is easy. You do not need to go to a special store to purchase fair trade items; you only need to look for the fair trademark on products in supermarkets to identify that the product has arrived from a humane place.
• There are global benefits
There are close to 1.66 million workers in 14,11 companies across more than 70 countries worldwide who participate in fair trade certification. That helps in a lot of positive impact for people in different parts of developing economies, and the benefits are not only in one area but many.
Final Words
Now that you know the benefits of buying fair trade wholesale products, you need to buy such products from fair trade-certified organizations. You can contact Anchal Project; they are a nonprofit organization that uses design and collaboration to provide economic support and opportunities for disadvantaged women.
They help the women to empower themselves through creating sustainable products like pillows, bags, home accessories, Kantha quilts, and many more. You can find kitchen accessories, face masks, home decors, and hair accessories.
