This is frustrating. We know that in the absence of regulation or oversight, workers’ rights at the bottom of our supply chains approach or outright classify as slavery conditions.

Fair trade certification is essentially meant to be a means of opting out of funding those conditions as consumers, by indicating which products hold themselves to a higher labor standard. However, this report claims that the mechanisms used to enforce those standards are exploited by certified organizations by manipulating the auditing process (e.g., compelling workers to respond positively in interviews because corporate representation is present). Thus, this particular brand of private regulation is worse than useless because it tempers labor solidarity in favor of impotent “ethical consumerism.”

If accurate, it’s nothing short of an outrage. But abandoning the idea entirely in favor of global labor solidarity feels naively misguided. The majority of privileged consumers don’t even care enough to choose fair trade options when given the choice, due to ignorance, apathy, and/or a sincere belief that we have a divine right to $1 king sized-snickers, and that the exploitation of invisible people is an unfortunate or righteous inevitability.

The world’s not in a position to effect impactful labor solidarity right now, and I’m not convinced (yet) that there are no benefits (e.g., “Workers are provided the tools and uniforms necessary to perform their jobduties free of charge, and the costs of these cannot be included in wagecalculations or as salary deductions”) to fair trade initiatives.

Per Labor Notes’s own findings, certification audits are carried out by third parties, and their reporting covers only areas in Mexico through the testimony of 200 workers. Without seeing more information, I don’t want to assume this isn’t a localized issue or due to a single negligent auditor. When given the choice between idealistic purity or meaningfully pragmatic gains, I’ll choose the latter. But it’s becoming increasingly apparent that’s not enough on its own.

As a side note, I get my coffee from Equal Exchange and I highly recommend it, unless someone tells me they’re bullshit too.