« October 2008 | Main | December 2008 »
November 18, 2008
Fair Trade; Fair Wage; Fair Transaction.
Alongside my core requirement classes for my business degree, I opted to enroll in a weekly women's studies class this semester as an outlet for my free-flowing thoughts. The class itself is a great stress-reliever, as twelve of us meet on Wednesday nights to discuss "gendered lives in the U.S." As a final project, we were told to pinpoint an issue in contemporary society and come up with a plan-of action. A revelation. A solution.
I chose the topic of fair trade...which led into free trade...and intertwined with women's working wages. All of the above affect all members of our community. I don't think that enough people are aware of the importance of sustainablity in today's world:
The phrase “Fair Trade” has been tossed around in contemporary society as frequently and nonchalantly as yesterday’s forecast or political propaganda. But does the public really know the difference between fair trade and free trade? How about the impact of trade barriers on women’s working wages? Or that the products they hand-pick in the supermarket had previously been in the hands of exploited workers? Essentially, I have chosen to focus in on the importance of fair and liberated trade; I will be emphasizing the importance of relaxing trade barriers in order to ultimately result in an increase in job openings for women – with equal salaries cemented into the employment description. Through informed consumption, written letters to people in positions of power, and protesting, we can work to educate others on this emerging issue while fighting for socio-economic change.The first aspect of the problem, fair trade, involves a number of criteria: payment of a fair price to producers, safe working conditions, no forced labor or child labor environmentally sustainable farming, direct trade with importers, and partial proceeds devoted to social development projects. This issue typically pertains to the export of goods (handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, bananas, cotton, etc.) from developing countries to developed countries. Outside of the government and the businesses directly involved in the transactions, society comes into play; a good number of consumers are unaware of what goes on behind-the-scenes of America’s imports. Additionally, consumers may be unaware of the ethical decisions (or lack thereof) of large businesses on a daily basis as they profit maximize while minimizing their morals.
Alongside fair trade lies the issue of barriers to trade. Quotas, or limitations on the country’s imports, have a greater affect on society than they seem. Not only do quotas limit the product diversity in our country, but a restriction on trade reduces the number of available jobs – along with the available jobs that provide equal pay for women: “A study of 35 developing countries found a strong positive correlation between the number of female workers per 100 male workers and export growth” (Wood 1991). Additionally, the gender wage gap can be closed through trade expansion; trade increases competition amongst firms, causing a downward pressure on costs and less discrimination against women with comparable skills to men: “A cross-country study that investigated the impact of trade on the gender wage gap suggests that within occupations, increasing trade in most cases is associated with narrowing gender wage gaps” (Oostendorp 2004). I believe that this will be eye-opening news to today’s young future leaders – especially women – who will be the target audience for the implementation process of my solution.
My proposed solution to battle the problem of tightly restricted trade and the persistent gender wage gap begins with informing young adults about the perils of the situation. Therefore, I will encourage informed consumption of fair trade products by posting powerful flyers around campus advertising the importance of supporting fair trade industries. Building on this foundation of spreading knowledge to my peers, I will urge people to write letters to their home-state representatives, advocating a relaxation of trade restrictions in order to ultimately close the gender wage gap that continues to plague today’s society. Telling students to write to their home-state representatives will help knowledge of the quota issue to spread to other states besides Michigan, working towards a nation-wide campaign for policy alteration. Finally, I will seek out student groups on campus (such as S.O.L.E) to help organize boycotts and protests against local businesses which are unethical in their decisions. This will simultaneously impact the way those businesses view their policies, while further demonstrating the importance of fair trade and informed consumption – which powerfully reinforces the previous steps of my solution.
You can read-up on the impact of trade ont he gender-wage gap here.
Here is a flyer I made to get the word out.
शांति
Karen Rockwood
Posted by rockwood at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2008
The Cronicles of Local & Organic Living
Food fuels our bodies; these foods significantly influence our daily productivity and overall well-being. Therefore, shouldn’t we put just as much effort into our grocery purchases as we do into our morning yoga poses? When it comes to grocery shopping, the battle between locally-grown and organically-grown goods rages in the mind of every health-savvy consumer. The recent wave stressing the importance of organically-grown food has heightened consumers’ awareness of the types of foods they purchase, along with what happens to those foods during growth, packaging, and distribution. But is an organically-grown pear shipped from across the country any better than a branded pear grown in your current state of residence? I’m not convinced.
Sticking with the category of produce, organically-grown fruits are already free from pesticides and DDT. Therefore, they will naturally (no pun intended) rot at a faster rate than produce which has been fortified against exponential deterioration. Thus, en route to its destination, this organic fruit will be more vulnerable to deterioration, bruising, and aging – ultimately making the fruit less fresh upon delivery – not to mention its short shelf-life. Unless the grocery store re-stocks the organic produce almost daily, it isn’t safe to say that the fruit will be the freshest, or healthiest, in the bunch. On the other hand, locally-grown produce will most likely be re-stocked often (since shipping won’t be much of an issue). Although these fruits might have been exposed to some chemicals to keep them fresh, the amount of chemicals used will be significantly less (since the transport route will be short) compared to big-brand producers who ship mass amounts of produce from different states).
In the end, it really comes down to which matters more to you – 100% chemical-free produce that is on the verge of rotting, or 90% crisp, chemical-free produce hand-picked by your local friendly farmer. While I agree that organic living is important in the long run for human and planet sustainability, I would choose locally-grown over organically-grown because I believe that “local is the new organic”
For our convenience, stores like Whole Foods have been unfolding across the United States to satisfy our organic cravings. Not only does Whole Foods have an outrageous selection of prime products and healthy versions of nearly every “junk food,” but they also accommodate for a myriad of common allergies. When I set foot into Whole Foods for the first time and asked an employee to direct me towards the gluten-free bread, he instead directed me towards the information desk and gave me a complete directory of gluten-free products that Whole Foods had in stock.
Essentially, organic and locally-grown goods are now widely available enough to leave your backyard gardens unkempt. Just take care not to overanalyze your produce purchases. It might interfere with your balanced mind.
शांति
Karen Rockwood
Posted by rockwood at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)