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Language
English (en)
Date of Award
3-9-2007
Author's Department
International and Area Studies
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (A.B.)
Restricted/Unrestricted
Restricted
Abstract
Fairtrade is an ethical commodity initiative for small farmers in the South whose economic and/or social development has been hindered by the present conditions of trade. Ethical commodities are products that take into consideration certain social, environmental and/or political values in their production and trade. As they relate to fair trade, ethical commodities offer an alternative option to the free market, within that market. The basic economic principle behind fair trade is the "real" cost of production. This means taking into consideration, commercialization, maintaining a family, and the time and energy to harvest and transport the coffee. Historically, coffee prices have always been set by commodity firms in New York and London, leaving the farmer victim to the volatile market price-a price that often does not reflect the effort and energy needed to produce the product. All of these costs are considered in the price of the beans.5 This, however, does not translate into charity for farmers in developing countries. In order to charge more for a product the quality has to go up as well to make up the difference in price between Fairtrade coffee and conventional types. The result is a high quality, sometimes organic product that merits the difference in price. This is, in theory, how fair trade should work. However, its actual practice is a much more complicated process with repercussions involving conflicting notions of development, consumerism, marketing and the role of the producer in these new global ethical commodity networks.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7936/7jng-cf71
Mentor
Derek Pardue
Recommended Citation
Dyer, Zachary, ""We are Owners Without Pay" : Ideological Disconnect Between North and South over Fairtrade Standards" (2007). Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses. 134.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.7936/7jng-cf71
Comments
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