Fair Trade and Child Labor

Fair trade could help millions of children just like these two:

I’m 7 years old and I work on a coffee plantation in Kenya. I have to reach up high to pick the ripe, red beans off of the coffee plants. To keep away bugs, the farmer sprayed the coffee plants with poisonous pesticides. About four million Kenyan children just like me are forced to work in hard, dangerous jobs.

I’m 10 years old and I live in Texas. I work on a farm to help my family earn money. One of my jobs is picking onions. I don’t go to school very much during planting or fall harvest. About 500,000 kids in the United States work on farms for little pay. Many of us miss months of school each year.

Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy safe working conditions. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited. Because workers are paid a fair, above-market price for their goods, they earn a living that enables them to take care of their family. This diminishes the need for their children to work. Fair trade eliminates the middleman so more of each dollar spent on products goes back into the pockets of the farmers and workers who actually produced the goods. Some of this money is reinvested in community development projects like schools. Education helps prevent the cycle of poverty that is closely connected with child labor. To find Fair Trade Certified™ products in the stores you frequent, click here.