“Fair Trade” labels helping corporations hide exploitation
In the idyllic aisles of U.S. supermarkets, labels like “responsibly grown,” “farmworker-assured,” and “fair-trade certified” adorn fruits and vegetables, masking the harsh realities faced by Mexican workers who harvest them including wage theft, sexual harassment, retaliation, and even forced labor.
Weak standards and poor enforcement
Fair Trade USA and the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) claim to establish private labor standards through a collaborative process involving brands, growers, nonprofits, and, in the case of EFI, U.S. farmworker unions.
However, Jacobin Magazine interviewed 200 workers and found that these certifications are tools of management repression, creating joint worker-management committees that are ineffective in empowering workers.