Why Fair Trade Means Protecting the Environment, Too

When people think of Fair Trade, they might think of fair prices for farmers, better labor standards, or maybe even safe working conditions – but what people often forget about is that Fair Trade is equally invested in protecting the environment. Fair Trade not only helps improve farmers’ living and working conditions, but also helps them become better stewards of the land. Farmers who struggle to make end meet are often forced to engage in cheap agricultural practices that compromise surrounding ecosystems.

We at Fair Trade USA believe that in order to improve producers’ living and working conditions, theirenvironment must also be clean and healthy.

Strict environment standards
Rigorous environmental standards encourage farmers to better protect their delicate ecosystems and reduce the use of harmful chemicals.  Here are a few examples of the environmental standards that farms must comply with in order to become Fair Trade Certified:

• Soil and Water: Enhance soil by applying sustainable irrigation practices such as crop rotation; source water sustainably and reduce water use over time
• Biodiversity and Carbon Emissions: Report current benefits and future goals for ecosystems and current methods of carbon emission reductions
• GMOs: Use of GMOs are strictly prohibited
• Agrochemicals: Handle agrochemicals safely and minimize their use
• Pests and Waste: Develop sustainable and safe management plans for pests and waste through farmer education

Continue reading full article on Triple Pundit at: http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/04/protecting-people-protecting-planet/