Does Your Tea Need to Be Fair Trade?
The best way to help people experiencing poverty is not to give them someone else's fish but to create the circumstances in which they can consistently catch (or earn) their own. Fair Trade is an interesting hybrid because it focuses effort both on artificially increasing the wages of the workers in the short run, and also on investing in local infrastructure and community development to create long-term, environmentally and economically sustainable circumstances.
Let's pause for a moment to better define the Fair Trade movement and Fair Trade Certification process as it relates to tea. Fair Trade is based on the assumption that the market price paid to tea growers/laborers is not "fair" and does not promote sustainable living environments. In this way, Fair Trade is to the local economy and the worker what Organic is to the environment and the plants. (To be fair, some Fair Trade organizations also focus attention on environmental sustainability, but their mission is primarily social and economic.)
A Fair Trade premium of between $0.50 and $1.50 per Kilogram (2.2 lbs) of tea is charged by the grower. In addition, the growers pay a certification fee to gain Fair Trade status. These premiums and fees go directly into the pockets of the laborers, towards developing programs at the local level, and towards funding the certification process, the Fair Trade bureaucracy, and marketing the Fair Trade brand internationally. For comparison purposes, the "Fair Trade" premium on coffee is $0.05 per pound.
Producers must apply for certification through one of several Fair Trade Organizations (FLO, IFAT, NEWS, EFTA, etc.,) which require adherence to the following criteria:
1. Fair Labor Conditions: wages, working conditions and living conditions
2. Direct Trade: no middlemen adding unnecessary costs
3. Community Development: investment in services and/or infrastructure to aid the community
4. Environmental Sustainability: agricultural methods that are "healthy"
5. Transparency: free association of workers and farmers and democratic decision-making
Because many tea gardens are small, family affairs without the means to participate in community investment or adhere to extensive bureaucratic documentation and auditing rules, the vast majority of specialty tea producers are not "Fair Trade" certified. In truth, these programs and processes are best suited for the giant tea estates that produce 97% of the global tea supply, which is commodity grade and harvested and processed by machine. In some countries, like Japan, no Fair Trade teas can be found because the tea workers are already paid far above the poverty level. This would be akin to demanding a Fair Trade wine from France.
"Fair Trade" sourcing options have expanded in recent years, but they are still very limited in the world of premium loose tea. As a result, Adagio prefers to get involved directly at the source. While we support the ideas behind Fair Trade, we believe that, currently, the best way for us to raise the living and working standards of the growers is to introduce Americans to premium loose leaf teas. Premium teas fetch premium prices and require significant additional human involvement. The result is higher wages, more employment, and better tea for all of us! In addition, we buy all of our teas directly and choose our producing partners based, in part, on their business practices. Finally, we contribute directly to the well-being of the farmers through programs like our Roots Campaign. As we grow, our purchases result in meaningful changes in the lives of our producing partners and their employees.
Fair Trade is a noble and valuable movement. It has been effective in driving change in several industries, including mass market coffee and tea. However, we question whether Fair Trade certification is the best approach to today's premium loose leaf tea market. If the consumer were to insist tomorrow on buying only Organic and Fair Trade teas, the immediate impact would be the destruction of the small tea farmer and the shift in production to large corporate conglomerates with much larger volumes and the resources to handle the administrative auditing and documentation burdens.
Let's pause for a moment to better define the Fair Trade movement and Fair Trade Certification process as it relates to tea. Fair Trade is based on the assumption that the market price paid to tea growers/laborers is not "fair" and does not promote sustainable living environments. In this way, Fair Trade is to the local economy and the worker what Organic is to the environment and the plants. (To be fair, some Fair Trade organizations also focus attention on environmental sustainability, but their mission is primarily social and economic.)
A Fair Trade premium of between $0.50 and $1.50 per Kilogram (2.2 lbs) of tea is charged by the grower. In addition, the growers pay a certification fee to gain Fair Trade status. These premiums and fees go directly into the pockets of the laborers, towards developing programs at the local level, and towards funding the certification process, the Fair Trade bureaucracy, and marketing the Fair Trade brand internationally. For comparison purposes, the "Fair Trade" premium on coffee is $0.05 per pound.
Producers must apply for certification through one of several Fair Trade Organizations (FLO, IFAT, NEWS, EFTA, etc.,) which require adherence to the following criteria:
1. Fair Labor Conditions: wages, working conditions and living conditions
2. Direct Trade: no middlemen adding unnecessary costs
3. Community Development: investment in services and/or infrastructure to aid the community
4. Environmental Sustainability: agricultural methods that are "healthy"
5. Transparency: free association of workers and farmers and democratic decision-making
Because many tea gardens are small, family affairs without the means to participate in community investment or adhere to extensive bureaucratic documentation and auditing rules, the vast majority of specialty tea producers are not "Fair Trade" certified. In truth, these programs and processes are best suited for the giant tea estates that produce 97% of the global tea supply, which is commodity grade and harvested and processed by machine. In some countries, like Japan, no Fair Trade teas can be found because the tea workers are already paid far above the poverty level. This would be akin to demanding a Fair Trade wine from France.
"Fair Trade" sourcing options have expanded in recent years, but they are still very limited in the world of premium loose tea. As a result, Adagio prefers to get involved directly at the source. While we support the ideas behind Fair Trade, we believe that, currently, the best way for us to raise the living and working standards of the growers is to introduce Americans to premium loose leaf teas. Premium teas fetch premium prices and require significant additional human involvement. The result is higher wages, more employment, and better tea for all of us! In addition, we buy all of our teas directly and choose our producing partners based, in part, on their business practices. Finally, we contribute directly to the well-being of the farmers through programs like our Roots Campaign. As we grow, our purchases result in meaningful changes in the lives of our producing partners and their employees.
Fair Trade is a noble and valuable movement. It has been effective in driving change in several industries, including mass market coffee and tea. However, we question whether Fair Trade certification is the best approach to today's premium loose leaf tea market. If the consumer were to insist tomorrow on buying only Organic and Fair Trade teas, the immediate impact would be the destruction of the small tea farmer and the shift in production to large corporate conglomerates with much larger volumes and the resources to handle the administrative auditing and documentation burdens.