Fair Trade

Client Personal
Role Designer
Discipline Book Design, Research, Photography

Eight Things Everyone with a Caffeine Routine Should Know
This is a coffee table book that educates the reader on eight things that they would not normally know about Fair Trade. The book leads readers to question the authenticity that fair trade makes bout their products.

Original photography excluding portraits of farmers and product packaging.

The Idea
According to fairtradeusa.org the most common imported caffeinated products that are consumed regularly in the US are coffee, tea and chocolate.

In the Fair trade Foundation’s own words, Fair trade Fortnight is a massive nationwide effort to promote awareness and sales of Fair trade products.

The volunteer-run events aim to increase the sale of goods that bear a licensed mark; in other words, it is about selling a brand. Fair trade Fortnight is an interactive advertising campaign for Fair trade goods, repackaged to resemble a fundraising marathon.

Where is the evidence?
The Fair trade Foundation website reveals that little original research has been produced on the merits and effectiveness of the Fair trade approach to fighting poverty. Indeed, what research there is appears to be somewhat out-of-date.

Fair trade advocates usually rely on anecdotes of farmers happy to be part of Fair trade, perhaps a tacit admission that statistics would be too revealing. These stories may be persuasive and emotionally appealing to the unguarded public, but they do not answer the very real questions about the effectiveness of the Fair trade model.

People who purchase fair trade products such as chocolate or coffee likely believe the profits will reach and benefit the farmer directly. This motive makes them willing to pay more than they would for conventional products.

However, the Fair trade industry does not reveal how much of the profits for these items actually reaches the producer. All they claim is that farmers receive a “fair price for their harvest”.