Rusty Claymore (post: 1486139) wrote:I probably missed why in the earlier threads, but why isn't it referred to as "Ethical Trade"? The concept seems to deal more with ethics than justice. And since it also has less to do with actual trading, wouldn't there be a more effective term to transfer the intended meaning? I had thought "fair trade" was already a defined term in commerce and stocks.
Rusty Claymore wrote:And since it also has less to do with actual trading, wouldn't there be a more effective term to transfer the intended meaning?
Rusty Claymore (post: 1486139) wrote:I had thought "fair trade" was already a defined term in commerce and stocks.
Mr. SmartyPants (post: 1486172) wrote:To me, fair trade is an important but realllllyyyy difficult issue, because SO many of our current and modern-day amenities exist due to the expense of the well-being others, yet at the same time the alternative could be simply that they do not have jobs. Examples being:
1. Clothes. Plenty of out clothing is produced in sweatshops where workers make very little money compared to the hours they work. Even with exchange rates and inflation of individual economies considered, it's still not a living wage.
2. Electronics. A lot of electronics we have consist of minerals which are mined by enslaved workers (with women being subjugated to systematic rape and children becoming child soldiers) in placed such as Sierra Leon and The Congo. It's the exact same concept as blood/conflict diamonds, but instead with precious metals. The last time I checked, of the companies that were trying their best to make their products Conflict-Free Assured, Japan did very little on their part. I'll have to dig around for more updated information.
3. Medicine. Some pharmaceutical companies do preliminary testing of new drugs in places such as Africa, because unethical practices wouldn't be as policed there. Obviously this leads to numerous side effects and other dangerous complications. So if you go to your local drug store and pick up some Advil, you could very well be funding the people who do such practices. Case in point: Pfizer (the manufacturers of Advil and other drugs) has been under some heat recently for this very issue.
So I agree with you. It's really hard trying to live and buy ethically and responsibly. I don't think we can ever be FULLY fair trade, but we should at the very least spread awareness and do the best we can.
UniqueAngelStar (post: 1486189) wrote:I agree with you a lot.
I wish I can do Fair Trade, but It's really hard to find items that are produced by fair labor.
I should do my best to buy items which are fairly made while I can afford it.
How can you tell if a item is fairly traded made or not? We need some tips, especially for me..
Lynna (post: 1486210) wrote:I remember, A few years ago, I bought some Nike shoes, and then my older brother yelled at me because he said that Nike used slavery v.v
So the next time I bought shoes, I didn't buy Nike. But the problem is that Nike owns many other shoe companies... So even now I can't be sure my shoes are slavery-free
Mr. SmartyPants (post: 1486172) wrote:It's really hard trying to live and buy ethically and responsibly. I don't think we can ever be FULLY fair trade, but we should at the very least spread awareness and do the best we can.
TheMewster (post: 1486393) wrote:I wish I could be fair trade... but I can't afford it or find the fair trade products in my small town. Is Dollar General and Family Dollar fair trade?
As a rule of thumb, shoes are made in sweat shops unless otherwise specified. (Or if they are made in a country with labor laws.) Right now, I am looking into buying a pair of ethletics, since they look to be a good alternative to Converse. (which is owned by Nike) They aren't that much more expensive, either. I used to wait until Converse went on sale so they would only be 40$.
Shao Feng-Li wrote:To be honest, I don't really care to look for fair trade labels. Actually, I'd rather just see "made in the USA" on a label.
Nate (post: 1486422) wrote:Again, most Fair Trade ingredients are things that can't be made in the US, like cocoa and coffee. Those crops don't grow in the climate of North America, which necessitates their importation from other countries.
TheMewster (post: 1486393) wrote:I wish I could be fair trade... but I can't afford it or find the fair trade products in my small town. Is Dollar General and Family Dollar fair trade?
Also, even if we don't buy the products, slavery will still exist, so we need to fight back in other ways besides boycotts, like prayer and donating to charities that help these people.
Or at least, donate to charity to balance the damage you're doing, or just buy used electronics instead of new (which saves money ANYWAY), since obviously the damage has already been done and you aren't funding these companies by doing that.
Let me give an example: I've said to God that I won't buy Pokemon Black or Pokemon White (because of Nintendo's conflict minerals issue) unless I can donate either TWICE the price of the game to a charity helping these people if it's new, and donate the price of the game if it is used. And if I can't find any charities helping them, I simply abstain from buying the game. This pretty much guarantees that I will probably never be able to play Pokemon B or W, but I already have other Pokemon games that work JUST FINE and some that I STILL haven't even BEAT YET. Most importantly, this is what Jesus would do.:thumbsup:
For food, (I know many of you can't do this due to having just an apartment or living in a big city) my parents grow their own veggies. Now, they don't do this for fair trade---they do it to save money. Nevertheless they probably ARE helping by being self-sufficient as far as vegetables. Now, occasionally we have to buy some veggies, and we still have to buy meat, but we are eating a lot healthier and probably helping a lot of people out.
Shao Feng-Li (post: 1486425) wrote:Ok, aside from those things then. Still, I can't afford $11 for 8 ounces of coffee...
... At the same time, I don't really need to drink half a pot in the morning.
Mr. SmartyPants (post: 1486428) wrote:It is true that fair trade is more expensive, but I think the important thing is that we still do our best. The whole thing is a cost-benefit analysis in our heads, i.e. "This coffee is a little more expensive, but less-expensive brands may be contributing to human rights abuses". It's a question as to whether or not we want to contribute to said abuses. Maybe we can also change our lifestyles to drink less coffee? So that $11 8oz bag can last a little longer?
Cause we don't live in a perfect world. And it will never become perfect by human measures. But this doesn't mean we should not ever cease trying. To me, aiming for a goal which may be impossible is the whole point of embodying the unconditional love and hope of Christ.
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