I had a chance to experience the difference we can all make when I visited fair-trade cocoa farmers in rural Ghana with Cadbury Canada. Here's how you can improve the lives of people thousands of miles away by purchasing fair-trade products like chocolate.
What is fair trade?
Chocolate is a treat we all enjoy. But did you know that 90 per cent of the world's cocoa (a key ingredient in chocolate) comes from small producers in third-world countries such as Ghana?
Most farmers in Ghana live very close to the poverty line and the term "fair trade" ensures that farmers in Ghana, and other developing countries, receive a reliable and living wage for their work. They also get a social premium to invest back into their communities for much-needed projects, such as building schools and roads. The best part about this extra money is that organized groups of farmers (co-operatives) decide how the premiums can best be best put to use, giving them the ability to make a real difference in their communities.
When chocolate bears the Official Fair Trade Certified logo, it means the cocoa production has been independently monitored, giving you the assurance the manufacturer's claim is true, said Michael Zelmer, director of communications with TransFair Canada, the organization that certifies fair trade products in Canada.
Fair trade also encourages sustainable farming, so when purchasing a fair-trade products you're also helping the environment.
How else can fair trade help?
Fair trade has a huge impact on individual farmers (many of whom are women) and their families. I spoke to one fair-trade cocoa farmer in rural Ghana who told me he has four children who are "all well educated because of the money I get from fair trade."
Describing the impact of fair trade, Mary Mabel Addy of the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers group in Ghana said: "They [fair-trade cocoa farmers] have more confidence and courage and are moving ahead."
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