Fair Trade Helps Farmers, But Not Their Hired Workers
According to a new study of cocoa-producing cooperatives, Fair Trade certification boosts the income of small farmers, but those benefits aren't shared with their hired workers.
It's a disturbing question that haunts many shoppers with good intentions: What am I actually accomplishing by buying coffee or chocolate with the Fair Trade label? Does the extra money that I pay actually benefit the people who harvested those beans?
Researchers have been curious, too. They've that, in fact, small farmers in Latin America and Africa do.
