Hello Class,
Have you heard of the Fair Trade Movement? Since you all enjoyed the last video which exposed our obsession with consumption and explained the processing of "stuff", I thought we could look at another way in which we, as consumers, can actually affect the way the markets operate. If you drink coffee or tea, eat fruits and rice, or enjoy chocolate as much as I do, you can join the movement by being an informed consumer! Please copy and paste the link below into your browser and watch the 8-minute video clip. Share your impressions with us!
Had you heard of Fair Trade before? Do you think a fair trade global economy is possible?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhQJrz-aDfI
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It's hard to find something fair in this #$%^&* life, especially in trading and business.
ReplyDeletei support Fair trade, because i think it is a positive process. It might be in any kind of trade, it doesn't matter. It gonna help to keep the prices competitive and when u keep the prices competitive it causes balance in economy. actually it was just an example of many advantages of "Fair Trade"
Fair trade is very helpful way for some poor area. Exspcially, it can help the farmers. Many farmers have finacial problem in their daily lives. The fair trade can give the farmer more opportunity to join in the markets. Then they can get much profit from the competition,so they get enough money for education, reproduction and their daily lives. Totally, the fair trade can make a balance between the poor area the a rich area. It can make a same opportuniy for each preson and try to break the engrossment situation from a company.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the fair trade a achieve the gold which from majority, so it make common prosperity in the world. In the other hand, "fair" is relative, maybe fair trade is good for a part of prople, but is bad for the other part, such as the engrossment company. In a word, fair trade is good, beacause nowadays, poor people are more than rich poeple, common prosperity is improtant and the fair trade and make it in the furture.
Finally, people realized that we’ve been exploiting the coffee farmers for long time. The fair tread is what the coffee farmers deserve. In addition, it’s about time pay them back. Now, we can buy a cup of coffee for 2 dollars. Exploiting the farmers is the reason why we can but such cheap coffee. The people in third countries are treated unfairly. The children can’t get the well education and the families struggle in the poor condition. These people deserve the better lives. We can make difference just by a simple action ‘buy the fair tread coffee ’! Everyone is able to help them!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mahmoud. This is just one advantage of fair trade. We also can say it simly that in trading, if everyone is honest, all of people from farmers, companies to consumer aslo have benefits. However, people are never satisfied with what they have and they always want more and more. This is the reason why like Mahmoud said, it's hard to find something fair in this our complex life. Although like that, it doesn't mean impossible. So wishing we can have more and more real example like that video.
ReplyDeleteit was really good movie. first of all i thought that fair trade is only an issue in my country but now by watching this video ... (my iea completely chandged).this video can show us the advantges of fair trade for example it can controle the prices of the crops and ... .one of the aspect of this video probaby is prejudice between farmers or workers and other jobs which people work to earn fair money (salary) and i mean fair beacuse this group of people also want to recieve good money and actually as one of the farmers said they want more money because of their children (scholarships).
ReplyDeleteoverally, by the advantages of fair trade (which have been told in this video) these problems can be solved.
After i watched this video, i found that it was interesting.it introduced us about the story of business especially about cost. it's really bad that companies give cheap price to the farmers. As a result, farmers do not have nough moeny to respond their family.i hope the companies deal this problem to help farmers.
ReplyDeleteI am agree with Aaron. I think companies do not give a value to farmers even though they try to plant coffee for the companies.It means if we do not these farmers how can companies have coffee. Therefore,they soon encourage farmers to continuous plant as give more money to them.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Sonia that we should buy coffee to help farmer increase their selling. Moreover, we can help children at the same time.
ReplyDeleteFair Trade is a kind of business that helpful for producers or farmers to sell their goods or products to retailers directly without middleman. Middleman is a person or a company that stand in the middle of producers and retailer to get some benefit between both of them by giving a cheap price to the producers and add more prices on the product when they resell it; Finally the goods' price will be increase. So if we cut off the middleman, the product price will be lower and the producer will get high price on their goods or products.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, fair trade is the good idea to use, but it is hard to make the connection between retailers and producers without the middleman. As we know that most of the producers are living in the rural area or poor country and the retailers are living in the city or downtown, so it will be hard for farmer or producer to find or sell their product directly to the retailer.
We call this is fair, because this trade is equal for everyone and working balance. By the improving of globalization, fair trade is becoming more and more common and which is used to generally. Fair trade has benefits not only on farmers, but also on workers, consumers. Famers are big winners, they are able to make more money form the fair trade, and which can developed business skills. For example, if the products have a high quality, farmers can receive a better price. In fact, lots of farmers lose their price by the unfair trade that is why Fair Trade is mentioned nowadays. I think that is the unfair competition in the market. We found that lots of companies want to have the goods with low price and high quality. And producers want to earn money; they have to reduce the price of their products. However, that is absolutely unfair, good products can not receive a good price. Consequently, fair trade gives everyone a balance deal system, although, that is a challenge, everyone has their responsibility.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a very interesting project but the thing is how that business model can compete with globalization. That's not an easy task. Maybe it can work if the local workers or farmers concentrate only in the local market but they won't have the resources to grown and i'm not sure if that would be the best for them.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they can gain a little stability but that will end when the big companies get into the market with better prices. It dosn't matter if the quality is not that good because at the end of the day, we are allways trying to save some money for the next day, the next week, month of the next 20 years.
Fair trade is a fair business model but it will be able to compete against the big economical systema that is already working around the world?
People in general is allways very selfish. I'm not sure that we will buy some foodstuff at a higher value just because is a "fair trade product".
hi... Aron i agree with you about fair trade.
ReplyDeleteFair Trade bad for companies. Companies with fair trade they going to sale cheaper than before.
GOOD LUCK..
hi.. mahmoud
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with you about hard to find something fair in this world. In my opinion this world has much fair than before . maybe in the past the world did not has fair; however nowadays the world has more fair.
In my opinion, this kind of business faces big problem which is there is no fair trade. Fair trade is very important for the farmers. the farmers do not sale direct to the buyers because there are people between them called middle men. they buying from farmers the coffee very cheap and than sale it to the buyer very expensive. To solve this problem we have to support the people who buy from the farmer direct and boycott the people who buy from the middle men such as Starboks. Moreover, the governments have to deal with it by rolls and punch the people who buy from middle men.
ReplyDeleteI thinke the video is really good because it talkes about how fair trade helps the workers and the producers to improve their standard of living. fair trade makes farmers play an important role in the economy and make them better economicaly. They produce the crops and earn money. Moreover they follow some strategies that make their next generations be more comfortable by leaving some money to them .
ReplyDeleteThat was pretty acceptable video for me. To be honost with you guys i believe there's something called under the concept of Fair Trade but I'm really not a fan of it and i don't support these kinds of actions since people are a little bit selfish as Alehandro mentioned in his comment.
ReplyDeletewhile Fair Traide generally has positive impact on the environment and the producers buy itselfa at the end it is also a global impact.
We all know that the definition of Fair Trade goes under that is a social movement or an organized action that aims to help poor countries particular developing countries in order to provide them with life necessaries.
Also aims allow them to become great producers and workers in order to get high payments for their jobs.
We always wonder what are the benefits of Fair Traide? With Fair Traide we have made improvements in our community. Also Fair Traide guarantees a price tha ensures farmers can support their families.
After all we are human being and we always look after things that could hepl others to have stability life. However, I consider myself one of the supporters in this world but i really see this kind of action it's gonna work less affective because it might collaps companies since they pay high prices and sell for less price as much as they can.
Anyways, i really enjoyed watching this video and have more ideas and fact about our wonderful mother earth. Wish all the bes to all.
Thanks..
What are the beautiful topics that our teachers offered! Aren’t they!
ReplyDeleteI think in this blog I am going to learn a lot of things which I am not familiar with, or I didn’t pay attention for them before.
Anyway, after I finished watching this video I felt confident that our planet is going to be better and safer than before. That because many businesses started to think and care about people, not only about profits. It is really brilliant smart idea that allows farmers to sell their goods directly and teach them how they can improve their market skills. Not only these, but also they will increase their profit at least two or three times to help them to rise their children and make their lives better.
In my opinion, these kinds of projects which are introduced these days come in the exact time because there are many farmers started to give up to farm their frames and started to seek for another works. Simply, that is because they can’t afford a good life for their families and children. I think by these great projects framers will stay in their frames and produce more and more good and healthy food for us.
In addition, I think the companies and consumers will share the benefits with farmers. Companies will offer a good and high quietly food which comes direct from farmers and sell it quickly, and consumers eat healthy and high quietly food and fell that they help other people at the same time.
I have never heard about Fair trade but I am pretty sure it is very good deal. I like eating organic products which are good for my health, plus I like helping poor people. So, Fair trade combines two of these choices.
ReplyDeleteAs I understood for the video, Fait trade is an organized social movement that help producers in developing countries. In fact, it is very good that they label their products for people to ensure that they buy really Fair trade’s merchandise. In the same time, the organization verifies every product to ensure that it is organic and healthy. If people in North America buy their products it is going to increase the economy in developing countries and lead towards their financial stability and prosperity. So, why don’t we not only eating good and healthy products, but also help the hard working farmers in countries like Costa Rica!!! I’m in, from now on, I will look for the Fair trade logo in products like coffee...and not only buy it but also tell my friends about this organization.
Very good comment, Frank. I agree with you that it is important to underline that Fair trade creates a standard price chart to ensure the quality and the profit equity. Good products should be paid fairly by its quality!
ReplyDeleteYes, we care about poor people in third countries. By buying their coffee we help them to growth and develop. Their children can receive the deserved education, they can have normal life conditions, eat and drink sufficiently and more... So I agree with you Sonia. It is good to support the organization like Fair trade.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all,the topics it's quit interesting,because we are familiar with this situation.And farmer it's a good example to choose, because we need to support them we have to be fair with them as we know most of our product that we used such as food,clothes and furniture that already prepared by farmer.In addition, they need power from the community that can leave something has a good guilty for new generation to deal with it.
ReplyDelete“Fair doesn’t mean equality, and so does balance.” This is what I have been thinking for a long time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the title, I thought it’s the “fair one” in the Communist State that mentioned in my political class. However, it’s another one. The fair trade in the video doesn’t mean anything for me, it’s just a simply business without (or less) middlemen, and the producers get more$. It has nothing to do with the “fair”, the Fair Trade Certified plays a game with us! FTC knows that we care about the fair, it uses this to get our attention! I hate this!
I don’t know what is fair for you guys, but the fair (trade) doesn’t exist in the $ world, buy the way. Imagine that, there is an artwork worth 100$(account the spent time, the material, the intellectual property rights, labour and so on), and you fairly pay the artist 100$, how can the “lucky” guy feed himself? I know I led you to another topic, but think again, the “fair trade” is impossible.
I still remember the words in my political textbooks, the capitalism is unfair (in trade). According to the Marx, in the history of human, the fair just exists in the Communist State which is the dream of him. And I believe that none of us will see this happens. Marx’s theory is boring, however he is objective, he is right (so I mention his theory in my comment). The development of human have to go step by step, and it may take more steps. And the skip will cause a malformed result (e.g.: the system in North Korea ). We need the “unfair”.
When people blame the unfair trade in the word, they don’t know it’s the unfair help they make $ and live happy. “Unfair” is the only path to the “fair”.
I don’t know why I am so mean to the video, but thanks for sharing ideas with your guys.
I think Fair Trade is a very important issue for people around the world. The growers should earn the larger portion of the profits for their goods, but unfortunately it is businessmen who make the profit! The is definitely unfair!
ReplyDeleteMy question is - why is Fair Trade coffee just as expensive as the coffee that passes through the hands of many middlemen who all, in turn, earn money on the exchange? In my view, there are 2 groups suffering from the coffee trade - the farmers and the consumers.
Fair trade should be about paying the grower a fair price and not over-charging the consumer!
Fair trade is good for the development of economy. It gives fair price for famers that not only can help them get money but also a way push them work hard. Because they got a lots money than before, they began to work hard, than they can produce high quality of food. They use the money to support their offspring for scholarships; they learn many skills than before which give them more chance being independence. In other words, they can grow food in their own way, it’s the best way that prove their economy. They use the best fertilizer and tools to grow foods, they care about their lands, so the ecosystem is much better. At the same time, company get benefits from famers, then workers for those companies earn a good salary. Our community developed, our society will be much better.
ReplyDeleteIn the theory,fair trade is very good alternative solution because the farmer and the customer can satisfy for result
ReplyDeleteat the same time. first of all, the famer use a best fertilizer which can protect a environment and themselves because they have a confidence about good price and high price help them to live well. On the other hand, coustomer can the food of high quilty. How wanderful it is. However, in fact, is that so ?
I really agree with Alejandro said "People in general is always very selfish. I'm not sure that we will buy some foodstuff at a higher value just because is a "fair trade product"".
ReplyDeleteI think money is the key of the selfish.
Maybe you can say, you are not selfish when you was born and raising in the family that have enough money to support all the stuff that you need. But after you are run out of money, maybe you will change your mind. if we don't care about ourselves first, who gonna care about us. this is the point that all the human being have.
I think that the hardest part is going to be who will be the responsible to create the fair trade. Maybe something that looks fair for him is not fair for me. Many of you say it, why do the fair trade products have the same price as the other products?
ReplyDeleteI don't know, i feel a little like Seyma and Carol, i'm not a big fan of this movement but just because the process is not clear enough.
Cheers!!!
To Seyma,
ReplyDeleteI like your words:"Under the concept of Fair Trade". I am sure we have the same idea,but yours is perfect.
Haj mahmud
ReplyDeletedud your oinion which refers to: nothing is fair in this world, is completely true. :D
Guo
ReplyDeletehey dud, i really like your comment. By the way its so nice and i think for this video , its the best comment .
take care
Im one of THE FANS OF FAIR TRADE.
ReplyDeleteHi so
ReplyDeleteI am agree with you that is very hard for farmers and producers to sell their goods directly without the role of the middlemen or companies. However, Fair Trade can help by reducing the number of middlemen between producers and retailers till one or two at least.
Bader,
ReplyDeleteyour are completely right that the topic is interesting and give a good example which is farmers. but, could you tell me what we have done for farmers? Most people see farmers as lower classes citizen . I think my brother the best way to support these people by respect them and give them their value.
Mohannad
ReplyDeleteI think we live in different worlds, or maybe we have different ideals of Fair !
Darya, i think result of Fair Trade is much more than "farmers will make enough money" and its not just in farming , Fair trade could be in most of businesses i don kno why i focused on farmers and their family :)
ReplyDeleteTo Carol, our dear teacher :)
ReplyDeleteI can answer your question. Of course we, the consumer, can not buy directly coffee by going to the farm, right? So we need someone get coffee from the farm and sell to us, so they need some pay for their transportation. It's fair for everybody. The problem is that are we satisfied to pay for expensive coffee or not? Because we have many options to buy coffee buy choosing any kind of coffee or any company to sell coffee. If we don't agree, we dont need to buy :). So according to me, the solution is that the farmer is satisfied with the price that the companies pay to them and we are satisfied to pay for this coffee. This is really the Fair Trade.
Hi, Alejandro. When you talked about our choosing rights, I think that is Fair Trade’s destination. Absolutely, we like buy something which is cheap. So, if all the goods in all around our world have the same price, we do not need to think that we buy something cheap is selfish, because there just have one choose.
ReplyDeleteTo Irina.
ReplyDeleteYou are so kind to think about the producer in the developing country. But is it good to help the farmer by consuming a lot of product like you said ;)?
Hi Irina,sorry i disagree with you when you said that we care about poor countries and we help them to develop by bying their coffe. In fact we do not by the coffe becuase we know that the money will go to the poor people. Moreover, if we look where the money goes,we will find that most of the money go to the rich people, who are the companies's owners and poor workers get only a small amount of the money. Those people work hard just to be able to feed themselves and support their families.Morewors, most of the workers are children so how we help them to develop if their kids can not go to school because they have to work. Thus our money that we pay for the coffe doesnt help poor people to be educated or to provide them with comfortable life.
ReplyDeleteHi Carol Hawthorne, I completely agrre with you that the workers should get most of the benefits becuse they are the people who worke wohle day to produce the coffe not the companies's owners.
ReplyDeleteTo Seyma
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Eventhough we don't participate in that kind of movement, we need to see that we have to look around poor people .Hopfully, like name, I expect that fairtrade is genuine trade for poor farmers and consumers because middlemen's monopoly breaksdowntradesystem.Eventually businessman just can be the winner. I think that's problem .
To so
ReplyDeleteEventhough your speaking is so general story, I am so sad after reading your comment ;because of mony,most people are selfish so, people who are selfish won't buy fair trade products. On the other hand, you are right but keep in mind, In the world, there are so many people who consider that health is much more important than mony. so, they think it is natural that they are willing to pay for the fair trade products eventhough price is a little high. Forthermore,We shouldn.t understand fair trade problem as a negotiation of simple human's selpfishness because middleman's monopoly deprives both of people's authority of life.Excessive greed that agonize others differs with general selfishness.
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ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right mahmoud.,.,you got the point.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately, even we are now more powerful and the economy has reached the hightest score than before have ever witnessed but peoples behave have collapsed in negative way,all they think about themselves eventhough they try to convince that they are doing the right thing. we try as much ad we can to lend our hepl hand to people but in fact, we DO NOT move any inch. thannk you..
to khalid,
ReplyDeletei support your point of view about that fair trade my have positive impact in farmers life but i am not pretty sure that it might also bring benefits to the companies..the situation is that farmers and companies at the end suffers..that's the point..only the middleman who enjoy selecting and collecting money..companies have to offer good price for the farmers even companies have to give good prive for their products considering sonsumers..so as you see there's nothing called FAIR TRADE in this world..
thank you ..
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNo One is really satisfied with what they have.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you guys !! The fair trade should be supported !!
ReplyDeleteIt not only facilitates the global economy but also improve the conditions of the third countries. Most importantly, the eco-systems are protected!!The coffee farmers finally get the pay of their effort.
The education is so important; furthermore, it is the chance for the children in the third countries to change their lives. Without the good education, the kids in the third countries have not chances to improve their lives.
I Love YOU GUYS WHEN EVERYBODY AGREE WITH EVERYBODY =)) WE ARE So0o SWEEET,, AREN'T WE ?
ReplyDeleteESPECIALLY MOHANNAD , WHEN HE STRONGLY AGREE, HE USE WORD I DISAGREE TO BE DIFFERENT :) BUT I GOT YOUR POINT
HAHA WE ARE THE BEST !
DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS ONE TOO ? LOL
omg mahmoud...even here you're funny man...
ReplyDeleteI AGREE WITH YOU MAN..no I DISAGREE!!!
i really hate this stupid word..we sound like one of the sweetiest ppl,,that's weird actually...
right now I DISAGREE ..hahahahah
khalid you are completely right. But sometimes it is difficult to give people what they deserve.
ReplyDeletehi everyone it is nebras ^_^
ReplyDeleteHello Nebras, its Mahmoud from Montreal , Nice to meet you :)
ReplyDeleteHeyyyyyyyyyyy Nebras welcome bro good luck
ReplyDeletein the course ;)
looooooooool Bader !!! its one day befor finishing our course =))) comeONNN
ReplyDelete