Proud to be wearing clothes which came via a fairer trading platform

When we talk about Fair Trade trading these days, we tend to think in terms of food and drink products. We have perhaps become used to the idea of consuming coffee which has been brought to market via a more equal trading platform, of course, and the same applies to tea. We are familiar with bars of chocolate which carry that famous logo, not to mention bananas from South America and various Caribbean nations. All in all, the buzz about Fair Trade trading in regards to the things we eat and drink has become extremely familiar.

The same might not be said for clothing, but it’s important to remember that cotton can be bought and sold via a fairer trading platform these days. In fact, a growing number of socially aware consumers in the West have been making the switch to items made from Fair Trade trading cotton, and that has led to a sizable increase in confidence among those who grow cotton in some of the world’s poorer nations. There are some experts who are predicting a greater awareness in the coming years, and that surely has to be good news for all concerned.

Cotton is in better shape thanks to a fairer trading platform

One of the problems faced by many small-scale cotton growers is that the industry is heavily subsidised in some countries, and this inevitably keeps the world price down at an artificial level. Cotton growers in countries like Turkmenistan and Mexico have to compete with those from the USA and Australia, for example, and that means it’s rarely an easy prospect. In recent years, the issue of government subsidies has led to a great deal of international debate, and it’s a matter that doesn’t go away.

In 2002, a long-term dispute between Brazil and the USA began to simmer, and the main thrust of the debate was Brazil’s claim that export credit guarantees issued by the US government to its own growers led to unfair trading opportunities. While Brazil was at the forefront of the dissatisfaction, there were several other nations which took a more than passing interest. They included poor African countries such as Benin, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso. Via the strategy of supporting Fair Trade trading, consumers in the West can help to improve the plight of overseas growers and, in the process, can be proud to wear garments that encouraged a fairer trading platform.