Fair Trade Tea
The concept of Fair Trade attempts to address the imbalance between the wages paid to workers, particularly in the Third World, who produce the tea and the money, made by those who trade in it. By the Fair Trade system, traders purchase direct from small producer groups and sell through mail-order catalogs and special retail outlets. Money earned by the producers goes toward improving the quality of life for workers through such schemes as pension funds, alternative training opportunities, environmental improvements, and welfare and medical programs. For example, in 1995, the first Fair Trade premiums reached Ambootia Tea Estate in...