Many people today are wondering what is fair trade and what does that symbol on some chocolate bars represent? Companies that are Fair Trade Certified pay more for the production however, it is for a better cause. In Fair Trade, companies pay farmers equally and do not use child labor in their chocolate production process. Some companies try to save money and not pay their suppliers, like farmers who raise the cattle for the milk that goes into the chocolate, fairly. These farmers may live in poverty or use children for cheap labor to make money. Chocolate companies such as Tony’s Chocolonely, Lillys, and Equal Exchange use fair trade. Fair Trade is saving lives and we need to convince more big companies to switch to Fair Trade.
You may be wondering how you can help the Fair Trade companies. One way you can help is by sending out a letter to other chocolate companies not using fair trade and telling them some reasons why they should switch to fair trade. Lastly, you can help by buying fair trade chocolate and paying a few extra dollars to know you are making a difference. Overall, fair trade is a great route and convincing more companies to switch to it is a great way to go.