FLO's International Fair Trade Logo

Fair Trade Tea（公平贸易茶）

What is Fair Trade

Fair trade is a complex and diverse social movement, and is hard to pin down and define concisely. This movement aims to ensure that workers are paid a fair living wage, have good working conditions, and work within democratic and transparent organizations. The movement achieves these goals by issuing certification to groups of producers meeting certain standards. The standards encompass working conditions, price, pay, and organization of businesses, and are chosen so as to promote the values and goals of fair trade: community development, environmental conservation, and economic justice.

Why Fair Trade Tea

In 2009, tea workers in Sri Lanka (where Ceylon tea is made) were protesting for higher wages. They were seeking to double their wages to $4.50 for a day's work. That's comparable to the price of a box of 20-50 teabags of inexpensive tea in most supermarkets in America, and far less than the minimum wage for an hour's work in the U.S. Even with the lower cost of living in Sri Lanka, according to the BBC News, almost a third of these workers were living in poverty.

Fair trade is a principle that aims to address this problem, not just in the production of tea, but in the production of agricultural products, clothing, and other products imported into wealthier nations such as the United States of America. The problem of poverty associated with low wages is not limited to Sri Lanka; it is an important issue for many countries that tea is imported from. With the exception of Japan, most tea is produced in developing countries where exploitation of workers, environmental degradation, child labor, slave labor, and other human rights violations are major issues of concern.

	Transfair USA Fair Trade Logo

Fair Trade Certification

Because fair trade goods often fetch a higher price than their counterparts, companies selling fair trade goods need to have their operations certified by a non-profit organization. Certifying organizations include TransFair USA, and the World Fair Trade Organization. The Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) is an association of organizations that have produced an international logo, encompassing certifications from many different orgainzations.

Is fair trade tea more expensive?

Not necessarily. While some of the factors in fair trade result in a higher price for consumers, there are other factors that can contribute to a lower price. Fair trade involves direct sourcing from producers, eliminating layers of middlemen who each take their share of the profit. Fair trade can thus result in prices comparable to, and on occasion, even lower than products of similar quality.

See Also:

• Yellow Tea
• Dark Tea
• Lu'an Guapian
• Taiping Houkui
• Chamomile Tea
• Gunpowder Tea
• Da Fang Tea
• Huo QingTea
• Tea Storage
• Caffeine and Tea
• Burdock Tea
• Ceylon Tea
• Flowering Tea
• Bi Luo Chun
• Green Tea Benefits
• Chrysanthemum Tea
• Yunnan Black Tea
• Huangshan Maofeng
• Lapsang Souchong
• Green Tea Effect Study
• Black Tea Effect Study
• Anxi Tie Guan Yin