Fair Trade for Haiti
Photo- Just Haiti non-profit organization.
Fair trade is a concept that has started gaining an abundance of momentum lately. For those of us who didn't know what fair trade is, this blog post will be dedicated to getting everyone familiar with the term and an example of it.
Fair trade is a partnership that works to provide low income artisans and farmers with a living wage for their work. As you can imagine, the devastation in Haiti from the earthquake and other disasters has left hard working citizens without livable compensations. Fair trade helps put money back into the economy, and promotes growth and security for haitian families. Since two-thirds of Haiti is covered in agriculture, there are numerous companies working to develop faming communities. For example, the Coca cola company gets mangoes from Haiti to produce their popular product: Odwalla Mango Tango fruit smothie. 10 cents from every bottle is given back to Haiti to develop Mango agriculture. An additional fair trade product is Just Haiti coffee. Just Haiti is a non-profit organization gives back 67% all of the proceeds into Haiti's coffee growth and development.
Just Haiti is an excellent demonstration of the cornerstones of fair trade
Fair trade is a partnership that works to provide low income artisans and farmers with a living wage for their work. As you can imagine, the devastation in Haiti from the earthquake and other disasters has left hard working citizens without livable compensations. Fair trade helps put money back into the economy, and promotes growth and security for haitian families. Since two-thirds of Haiti is covered in agriculture, there are numerous companies working to develop faming communities. For example, the Coca cola company gets mangoes from Haiti to produce their popular product: Odwalla Mango Tango fruit smothie. 10 cents from every bottle is given back to Haiti to develop Mango agriculture. An additional fair trade product is Just Haiti coffee. Just Haiti is a non-profit organization gives back 67% all of the proceeds into Haiti's coffee growth and development.
Just Haiti is an excellent demonstration of the cornerstones of fair trade
- Fair Working Conditions: Just Haiti works with farming families so tools and land are accessible and don't require any traveling to get to work.
- Fair Prices: The prices of the coffee is fair. There's options to buy just one or two bags or by in bulks of 50 or greater. If a customer is buying directly from Haiti shipping is not included and standard shipping rates still apply.
- Integration Into the Local Economy and Regional Development: The organization gives 67% of the profits back to the farmers and growers. They also work with other non-profit organizations in the areas to provide technical assistant and further market development. Eventually, it is Just Haiti's mission to integrate the business into the Haiti economy so Haitian farmers can eventually own all processing, marketing and exporting components.
- Fair Trade Partnerships Between All Actors in Tourism: Since Just Haiti works with other non-profits the farmers and growers can put their money into other aspects of the countries economy to continue widespread.
- Sustainable Resource Use and Environmental Justice: Haiti is 98% deforested, causing a huge loss of biodiversity. Deforestation is one of the major underlying causes of poverty in Haiti. Soil erosion diminishes agricultural productivity, and when the soil washes into the rivers and bays, it depletes the fish population. Just Haiti promotes Shade-grown coffee which promotes the planting and maintaining of trees. They also conduct a load fund that supports local tree-planting to protect the environment and continue growth of their company and coffee. Also, all of Just Haiti's coffee is packaged in recycled bags that can be degraded in composts and shipping boxes are made of recycled card board.