Fair Trade & Ethics
People who grow, make and deliver products; fair trade aims for fairer treatment of farmers and workers; checking shopping claims and reducing packaging rubbish
What a learner can do afterwards
- Explain how people's work helps products reach shops, sometimes from other countries
- Describe fair trade as aiming for fair prices for farmers, fair pay for workers and safer work
- Give an example of a thoughtful shopping choice, such as checking a Fairtrade mark or choosing less wrapping when food stays safe
1 · Read
You have learned about people's jobs and buying things. Before a product reaches a shop, people help grow, make or carry it. Farmers grow cocoa for chocolate. Workers sew shirts. Some of these people work nearby. Others work in another country.
Fair trade aims for fair prices for farmers, fair pay for workers and safer work. Fairtrade is one system with trading rules. A Fairtrade mark on chocolate gives information about rules for its cocoa trade. It does not tell you each person's exact pay or mean the bar is cheapest. A missing mark does not prove unfair treatment; you need more information.
Ben wants to support cocoa trading under Fairtrade rules. He asks an adult to help check the mark on a chocolate wrapper. A bright wrapper or a high price does not give the same information.
Check what a mark means before using it to choose.
Packaging helps protect food. If two snacks hold the same amount and both keep it safe, less wrapping can leave less rubbish. Shoppers can think about people and rubbish while choosing what they can afford.
A price tag shows what the shopper pays. It does not show the maker's pay or workplace safety. A high price does not prove fair treatment. A low price does not prove unfair treatment.
People help products reach shops. Fair trade aims for fairer treatment. Check shopping claims and think about wrapping within your family's budget.
Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset about product makers, fair-trade aims and shopping choices.
Five readings written for this dataset. Linked video: The wildly complex anatomy of a sneaker, by Angel Chang for TED-Ed.
More to read
A price is only part of the story
Suppose two shirts have different prices. Can you tell which worker had a safer workplace? The price labels do not give that answer.
The price is what a shopper pays. It does not list the maker's wages, hours or working conditions. Paying more is not proof that the maker received more.
An adult can help you look for information about the people who made a product. If you cannot find an answer, you can say you do not know. You do not need to guess from the price.
Questions about a promise
Imagine a company writes, 'Our workers are treated fairly.' What would help you understand that promise?
You could ask an adult to look for details. What does the company say about pay? What does it say about keeping people safe at work? Does it explain how those claims are checked?
A promise and evidence for a promise are different things. A cheerful picture does not answer questions about a workplace. Missing information does not prove unfair treatment, but it can leave a question unanswered.
What does the mark tell you?
A packet can show several kinds of information. Its price tells you what to pay. Its pictures can catch your eye. A mark can have a meaning that needs checking.
Fairtrade is a system with trading rules. On chocolate, its mark gives information about rules for cocoa trade. It is not a list of each person's pay and does not promise the cheapest bar.
Ask an adult to help check a mark you do not know. A product without that mark is not proof that its makers were treated unfairly.
Work along the route
Think about the work behind a chocolate bar. Cocoa has to be grown. Chocolate has to be made and packed. The finished bars have to reach a place where people can buy them.
Different people can do those jobs in different places. Machines can help with the work too. A chocolate bar may pass through more than one country.
The shop price helps pay for work and other costs along that route. It is not all one farmer's pay. The price label alone cannot tell you how much each person received.
Choosing with the information you have
You and an adult are choosing a snack. You can ask what it costs, how much food it contains and what keeps the food safe. You can also ask about the people who helped make it.
Less wrapping can leave less rubbish when it still protects the same amount of food. A Fairtrade mark can help you ask about cocoa trading rules. These answer different questions.
Families have different amounts to spend. Thinking about makers and rubbish does not mean buying the most expensive snack. You can make choices with an adult using the money and information available.
Explore more
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.