Film explores Fair Trade products around the world

This past Thursday, the UNCG Sustainability Committee presented the film Buyer Be Fair in the Weatherspoon Art Museum. According to the film, half of the world lives in poverty. The current purchases of Earth's populations hurt land, air, and sea.

Oaxaca, Mexico, is a town of scenic landscape. Despite the scenery of the location, poverty is always close by. Diego Woolrich is a coffee bean farmer who lives in Oaxaca, Mexico. His cost of production has not been much less than how much he has been able to sell the beans for, placing himself in financial difficulty. Many farmers have been in similar situations, and have had to abandon their plantations. Those farmers are unable to compete with cheaper beans from Brazil and Vietnam. If too many farmers abandon their plantations, then aquifers may dry up. Jose Vasquez sells his coffee beans utilizing fair trade, and has gotten up to twice the typical value. Fair Trade also assists with nurseries to grow healthier plants, for a higher quality coffee bean.

Fair Trade originated in the Netherlands 20 years ago. Most surveyed consumers claimed they would be willing to pay more for a higher quality product, if the extra money went to help farmers and their family by making them more money. The problem Fair Trade faced was to distinguish their product, so customers would know what purchases help farmer's families, and which products do not. The solution Fair Trade came up with was the Max Havelaar tag. Fair Trade has become a movement that is spreading rapidly throughout Europe. In Garstang, a town in the United Kingdom, it has become a part of their school's curriculum. All businesses in Garstang buy solely Fair Trade products.

TransFair is the American branch of Fair Trade. Their director estimates the company grows approximately 50 percent every year. He said, "It puts power in the hands of the consumers to make the world a better place one purchase at a time." Jack Kelly owns a coffee shop that utilizes TransFair. He buys more expensive coffee, which resulted in his profits going down. Jack Kelly has been frequently told that this is something you cannot do in business. He responds to these critics by saying, "I couldn't sleep well at night knowing my profit came from someone else's plight."

The production of timber is also addressed in Buyers Be Fair. Companies have been ravaging forests by cutting down massive amounts of timber. The endangered spotted owl nearly stopped timbering. Since then, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has placed an agreed upon set of requirements the companies must follow. Before a company can begin timbering, companies such as SmartWood must inspect the forest to make sure they are sustainable. After a forest is initially inspected, companies wishing to use the forest must pay for companies such as SmartWood annually, with no guarantee of certification.

Home Depot is the largest seller of timber. They have recently announced their preference for FSC certified wood. This is after Home Depot came under attack by activists for selling wood that came from depleted rain forests. Despite their preference for FSC certified wood, there is simply not enough certified wood to fill their shelves. FSC certified wood costs more, and it has not become as potent as the coffee movement. Most consumers do not know the difference between certified and non-certified wood, which is why not many companies care if their wood is certified or not.