Global Responsibility
Fairtrade standards are designed to support the sustainable development of small producer organizations and agricultural workers in the poorest countries in the world in order to sustain the proper fluctuation in the economy. (Freund) With more companies outsourcing production to third world countries, the issue of ethical treatment of workers and their families, becomes of growing concern. With a diverse western culture and companies spreading to countries such as China and Latin America, companies are faced with issues of upholding the traditions and cultures of other countries while still sustaining their annual revenue.
Latin America
Latin America, a country known for its potent and fertile soil, is often taken advantage of by larger and more highly-developed countries because of its vast landscape and their lower tax rates. With the growing spotlight on moral and ethical business practices, the issue of fair trading has now come down to company’s marketing ploys. Companies, such as Target and Starbucks, use their fair trade practices to market themselves to more environmentally centered people.
The issue of fair trade practices in Latin America stems from the countries past issues with unethical treatment, pay, and conditions for workers. According to the Stanford Social, the history of fair trade goes all the way back to the origins of bartering for goods back in the 16th century used while colonizing countries and trading with the indigenous people (Haight). In the eighteen hundreds, companies like the Dutch East India Company, “operated for the benefit of the mother country in “the colonies,” and were afforded monopoly privileges and protected from local competition by tariffs.” (Haight) These business practices made trading with underdeveloped countries unfair and often harsh. In the nineteen sixties, the fair-trade practices movement started to gain momentum. (Haight) People started focusing on the idea that highly industrialized countries and multinational corporations were using their power to further their development at the poorer countries expense. Latin America, being one of the top major producers of agricultural products like coffee, often fell prey to coffee industries business practices.
Starbucks
Coffee is the second most valuable commodity exported from developing countries. (Haight) Countries such as Colombia, Ethiopia, and Honduras are major supplies to the US; the world’s single largest coffee consuming country. Because of this fact, the United States of America is forced to uphold higher fair-trade standards while also maintaining ethical practices with underdeveloped countries.
Starbucks is a household name in America and a worldwide organization with a multinational presence. According to Starbuck’s annual report in the fiscal 2013 year, Starbucks had more than three billion customer visits to more than nineteen thousand stores in sixty two countries. (Starbucks) In the last year alone, the company had opened over seventeen hundred new locations worldwide (Starbucks). With the growing demand, the country has to import its products from countries that can provide the resources to meet the aggregate demand. In 2013 alone, three hundred and ninety-six million pounds of coffee were imported from over twenty-seven countries worldwide; ninety-five percent of that met fair-trade standards. (Starbucks) To deal with the increasing pressure of maintaining ethical practices in third world countries, Starbucks opened the Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices. (Starbucks) According to Starbucks, C.A.F.E was set in place to ensure their coffee’s quality while promoting social, economic and environmental standards (Starbucks). Starbucks, a company that prides itself on being socially and environmentally involved, tries to maintain a high quality product while being economic transparent. To be economically transparent, the company suppliers must submit evidence of payments made throughout the coffee supply chain to demonstrate how much the producers were paid. (Starbucks) They want to provide consumers with the ability to hold the company accountable for maintaining fair-trade standards and paying a fair price for their coffee. By doing this the company can portray itself as being ethically conscious and taking their producing countries into consideration. Not only does Starbucks aim to maintain fair-trade regulations, but they also intend to sustain ethical practices. According to Starbucks’ social responsibility statement, their goal is to, “always protect the rights of workers and ensure safe, fair and humane working and living conditions. In compliance with minimum-wage requirements and also prohibition of child and forced labor is mandatory.” (Starbucks) To ensure these standards are being met, the company created C.A.F.E call centers throughout Latin America as a way for employees to voice their concerns. Starbucks, being a multinational business and corporation, has a responsibility to uphold ethical and social standards. They accomplish this by following fair-trade regulations and following C.A.F.E (coffee and farmers equity) protocols. By following these set standards, the company has managed to remain successful and sustain growth throughout the economy while maintaining a cultural and eco-friendly image to its consumers. Because of their business model they are able to uphold their position as one of the biggest and most prosperous companies in the world.

References
Freud, K. (2011, January 1). Fair Trade Standards. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
Haight, C. (2011, August 1). The Problem with Fair Trade Coffee (SSIR). Retrieved September 13, 2014.
Responsibly Grown and Fair Trade Coffee. (2014, January 1). Retrieved September 13, 2014.
Starbucks Annual Reports. (2013, January 1). Retrieved September 13, 2014.