Fair Trade is a trading partnership that seeks greater equity in international trade by maximizing the benefits of the stakeholders involved (“WFTO”). Nearly all (93%) of the Starbucks Coffee Company coffee was ethically sourced through Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) practices, which include the fair trade system (“Responsibly Grown”). In January 2013, more than 1.2 billion profits from the sale of Kit Kats supported over 7,000 fair trade cocoa farmers through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan (“Kit Kat”). Fair trade products not only prevail in Hong Kong, but also around the globe like in America, Canada, England, and Australia. What makes fair trade products distinct from others is their meaningful impact on both their producers and consumers. Concerning producers, fair trade improves their lives and assists them in developing their communities. As for consumers, fair trade reassures them with high quality products and provides them a way to help protect the environment. Fair trade succeeds in achieving fairness by maximizing the benefits of fair trade producers and consumers in the perspectives of living quality, community development, product quality, and environmental protection respectively. The lives of producers under the fair trade system have been improved with increased income. According to Hans Peter Egler, Head of Trade Promotion of The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SESO), producers with fair trade labels on their products enjoy a thirty percent income increase on average over those without a label (SECO). Data showing quantifiable monetary amounts objectively reveals a rise in earnings among fair trade producers. Additionally, over the last ten years of operation of the Fair Trade system, the producer’s fund has ... ... middle of paper ... ...nth > “Responsibly Grown and Fair Trade Coffee.” Starbucks Coffee Company, 2012. Web. 20 Mar 2014. < http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/coffee> Ronchi, Loraine. “The impact of Fair Trade on producers and their organizations: A case study with Coocafé in Costa Rica.” Policy Research Unit: University of Sussex, Sussex (2002). “SECO - Switzerland promotes transparency in the extractive industries sector.” Seco.admin.ch, 2014. Web. 1 Apr 2014. id=27332>. “Teaching Quotes :: Quoteland :: Quotations by Topic.” Quoteland.com, 1955. Web. 3 Apr 2014. . “WFTO - Charter of Fair Trade Principles.” Wfto.com, 2014. Web. 20 Mar 2014. 34&limit=1&limitstart=2 >
Wright, L. T., & Heaton, S. (2006). Fair Trade marketing: an exploration through qualitative research. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 14(4), 411-426. doi:10.1080/09652540600948019
Trade is the most common form of transferring ownership of a product. The concepts are very simple, I give you something (a good or service) and you give me something (a good or service) in return, everyone is happy. However, trade is not limited to two individuals. There are trades that happen outside national borders and we refer to that as international trading. Before a country does international trading, they do research to understand the opportunity costs and marginal costs of their production versus another countries production. Doing this we can increase profit, decrease costs and improve overall trade efficiency. Currently, there are negotiations going on between 11 countries about making a trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific
Stenzel, P.L. (2012) the Pursuit of Equilibrium as the Eagle Meets the Condor: Supporting Sustainable Development through Fair Trade. American Business Law Journal. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5a7e6902-f838-4caa-8415-7f12751748da%40sessionmgr4005&vid=4&hid=4203 on May 23, 2014.
Fair trade should give protection to governments from exploitation. For example, small farmers can be protected by giving government food sovereignty. An article from the Chicago Democratic Socialist Organization proposed, “The agreement must return to governments the ability to safeguard food sovereignty by protecting family and small-scale subsistence farmers” (Chicago Democratic Socialist). Rewriting the agreement can protect the small farms and retain jobs for farm workers. The article further addressed an issue discussed previously, “Large-scale importation of basic grains into Mexico is a major cause of the economic collapse of rural communities, which forces millions of undocumented migrants to seek work in the USA” (Chicago Democratic Socialist). Therefore, it would solve problems both in the US and Mexico. It will take efforts of the many to renegotiate NAFTA, and many other terms needs to be added. The general direction should focus on protecting the interest of the general public by restricting corporate powers. Fair trade will reduce the problems caused by
Even in a world focused on the benefits free trade and aimed at achieving the goal of free trade, states are protectionist by nature. Unfortunately, the design of the international system allows for stronger nations to be more protectionist, leaving the weaker states even more vulnerable. A study that is more intensive than a critical commentary should be devoted to analyzing the impact of free trade on developing nations. I was limited to the readings and prior knowledge, and thus couldn’t provide a sufficient analysis on the fair treatment of developing nations. I was skeptical of the one reading that focused on fairness of international institutions because of the statistics that indicate these nations have not done well in recent decades. I would like to look into this more given more time and resources.
Roughly fifteen year ago the United States entered into an agreement with its neighboring countries Canada and Mexico. With the incarnation of this intercontinental free trade agreement; the United States acting as the conduit would not only increase trade productivity for itself but, allot its sister nations to the north and south the same advantages. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is beneficial to America because, it encourages the expansion of job opportunities, abolishes taxes and tariffs that can restrict the flow of imports and exports, and supplies the States with goods and services at lower costs causing profits to increase exponentially.
The fact that Starbucks buys Fair Trade coffee in actuality does little to benefit the farmers who grow their beans. Another notable feature of the relationship between the owners, employees, and farmers is the overall disparity between employees at the corporate level and those employed to grow coffee beans,
Coffee market in Taiwan is also important. Since 1998, Starbucks enter the Taiwan coffee market, more people have adapted the habit of drinking coffee (De Pelsmacker, Driessen and Rayp, 2005). Taiwanese consumers have more opportunities to face different types of coffee options. Consumers usually have positive attitudes for ethically made products. Most of consumer would be willing to pay a higher price for fair trade coffee, but they care more about the brand, label, and taste of the coffee
Free trade is a form of economic policy which allows countries to import and export goods among each other with no government interference. In recent years there has been a general consensus in economist’s stance on free trade. They view free trade as an asset. Free trade allows for an abundance of goods with increased varieties and increased availability. The products become cheaper for consumers and no one company monopolizes an industry. The system of free trade has been highly controversial. While free trade benefits consumers it has the potential to hurt manufacturers and businesses thus creating a debate between supporters of free trade and those with antagonistic positions.
”Free trade policies have created a level of competition in today's open market that engenders continual innovation and leads to better products, better-paying jobs, new markets, and increased savings and investment” (Denise Froning). Though Free trade plays a huge role in the economy today because of what and where it is used. Free trade allows for traders to trade across national boundaries and other countries without government interference. Meaning that traders have very few regulations that allow for them to do this without the government intervening. Free trade makes things for traders much easier and also allows for many more jobs in the US, such as exporting jobs, or jobs in the auto industry and plants. Though there are many other types of trade policies, none give more benefits than that of free trade. Free trade is not determined by artificial prices that may or may not reflect the true environment of supply and demand.
Free trade can be defined as the free access of the market by individuals without any restriction or any trade barriers that can obstruct the trade process such as taxes, tariffs and import quotas. Free trade in its own way unites and brings people together. Most individuals love the concept of free trade because it gives them the ability to move freely and interact in the market. The whole idea of free trade is that it lowers the price for goods and services by promoting competition. Domestic producers will no longer be able to rely on government law and other forms of assistance, including quotas which essentially force citizens to buy from them. The producers will have to enter the market and strive into to obtain profit.
Fair Trade is considered as an alternative trading system, which aims to protect the economically disadvantaged producers, especially in developing countries. It provides transparency and respect in international trade (Gingrich and King, 2012). Besides, Fair Trade also contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions for marginalised producers and workers and securing their rights (Mohan, 2010).
Two common products that are Fair Trade Certified are Cocoa and Coffee, each of which contains problems that producers face but gain benefits from Fair Trade. Fairtrade International states that cocoa is grown in tropical regions of more than 30 developing countries, such as West Africa and Latin America, providing an estimate of 14 million people with livelihood. Fair Trade Standards for cocoa includes no forced labor of any kind - including child labor and environmental standards restricts the use of chemicals and encourage sustainability. A problem cocoa producers face is the lack of access to markets and financing. Since cocoa is a seasonal crop, producers need loans to meet the needs for planting and cultivating their crop. With this in mind,...
Free trade is a policy that relies on the concept of comparative advantage that when comparing two countries one of those countries will have the capability to make a product that is better than the other country. So it is best if each country focuses its efforts and resources into one product to increase the economic activity for both countries. The determination of who produces a product better is based on the open market without intervention from a government who may try to control a trade by imposing government protective measures such as tariffs. The World Trade Organization has been tasked with monitoring free trade, but it has been noted that their policing has not been effective to stop such interventions. Free trade not only relies on a laissez-faire approach but also on assumptions of conditions. The assumptions used by many for economic theories are not always accurate but rather the justification for using the assumptions is so that economic theories can be applied for the greater good of an economy.
The main function of the company is its transaction activities which develop supply chain systems through which bind producer cooperatives in different countries. Besides that, the company with their strategies in the supply chain is trying to transform relations of production and trade. The trend of Starbucks’ marketing is murky for the distinction between its own system of supply chain and that of Fair Trade is the potential to ‘water down’ enablement results obtained at production places where they deviate from consumer purchases to corporate supply chains (Macdonald, 2007).