General Discussion

The provocative rightwing Adam Smith Institute has "investigated" Fairtrade and found - shock! - it's doing more harm than good. The rational free market economists, nappy-trained on Milton Friedman and Margaret Thatcher, say the popular system of paying a bonus to producers in poor countries and guaranteeing them an above-market price for their produce, helps only a very small number of farmers, favours some growers over others, pays inefficient cooperative farms and discourages mechanisation. Even worse, they add, it allows UK supermarket chains to profit more from the higher price of Fairtrade goods than the farmers themselves.

This is seductive but misleading. In a perfect world, with no trade barriers or subsidies or future markets or middle men, these academic points would be telling. But the free-trade system, which the Adam Smith Institute prefers and in which western consumers and small farmers must work, is heavily skewed against the poor. At the last count nearly 2 billion farmers were unable to get a decent price for their goods, and were earning less than $2 a day, something which might also be called "unfair".

Fairtrade is not perfect. It was only ever an inspiring idea to try to channel more money to producers in developing countries, and many people hold their nose when they see Tesco and others retailers making more money out of selling a fairly traded chocolate bar than the family who might have spent days labouring in the field to produce it.

Dullish,
We have made choices
as best we could,
for the best motives,
that have led to hurt,
for ourselves, for others.
Some wrong or selfish paths
may have led to good.


Do you have any suggestions as to what local people who care should do?

Do you have a personal view as to whether we should buy fairtrade goods or not buy them?

Don

All about personal choice from a balanced body of evidence.

Sadly, everything is branded nowadays to facilitate easier manipulation of those who believe too easily.

Accepted.


I have always been undecided on this, which is why I asked for your opinion. I have been torn between wanting to do some good, while recognising that a supermarket is likely to pocket far more of the extra price than ever finds its way to the producer.

With the exception of coffee and chocolate, almost everything I buy is fresh from local shops. If I can buy a fairtrade product that I like at a price I can afford then I do.

Agree with your post. Small local shops need our custom to survive. I'm all for fairtrade profit getting to those it was designed for, but it's obvious the big chains see it as another marketing tool, squeezing them dry as much as they do our local/national producers.

I have had this out with supporters of fairtrade in the past. None of their side of the arguments I had with them are sound.
I once belonged to a cooperative that was supposed to benefit members of the cooperative - it did not.
The people that benefitted the most, were those that did the organizing; in the case of fairtrade, it is people with a stiff white collar around their neck.
I have witnessed at first hand what members of the cloth get up too, and believe you me, they are no different than some members of the criminal fraternity.