Fair-Trade in the Grocery Store: Interpreting Labels
If you live in the United States, you are probably aware of how atrocious our labeling system is. “Natural” or “organic” labels can sometimes mean next to nothing. Companies can hide lots of suspicious ingredients within our lax regulations. For that reason, its important for us to truly understand labels so we can monitor what we are buying and putting into our bodies.
An example of potentially misleading advertising.
“ingredients: USA, almonds, and love” What does that mean? I don’t know either.
If you are a connoisseur of coffee or chocolate, you’ve likely seen the Fair-Trade Certified label on products at the store. Fair-Trade is actually an independent organization that certifies specific products and brands according to their criteria.
Fair Trade Certified Black Logo - Check their certification requirements here.
Look for the black “Fair-Trade Certified” label to ensure you are buying products that are entirely fair-trade. They recently amended their criteria and created a new set of white labels that indicate a singular fair-trade ingredient rather than a fair-trade certified product which must be entirely traceable from source to shelf. While this might open up doors for more fair-trade products (or at least the appearance of it), it also might confuse people who don’t understand the distinction between different fair-trade labels.
Going forward, it should be easier to purchase products with problematic ingredients (like cocoa) purchased fair-trade, even if the entire product isn’t. Just keep in mind that the label itself does have a more lax guideline and opens up the door for predatory corporations to jump on the trend without the ethics to back it up.
There are multiple other independent organizations with certification processes and labels that can show up on your food. Rainforest Alliance and Direct Trade are two examples that will provide the most ethical option for your purchase.