Hybrid Essay

Amanda Monreal

Professor Pessin

English 114 B

22 April 2013

Do not ever be afraid to do what is right, even if you know many people will dislike and abandon you for it. I learned this while researching many of my blog posts. Fair Trade is a beautiful thing and really helps out the people in need. The way that I see it is that Fair Trade is turning that market into what it should have been in the beginning. We have many critics complaining about a bad shift in the market regarding prices of coffee and other Fair Trade things, but in my opinion I think that they are just mad because they will be making a little less and would rather have themselves get richer rather than having the playing field leveled and everyone have a fair chance at prosperity. 

This blog assignment was actually one of the coolest assignments I have ever had. Not only was the fact that I was able to create a blog cool, but the fact that I actually learned so much more about something I though I had already known. Blogging for a purpose has so much more of a deep meaning rather than just blogging whatever pops up in your mind. This was such a good approach to having us learn something new. I know that doing this assignment will greatly benefit me in the future. 

Fair Trade

I chose the topic of Fair Trade because I had learned a lot about it during high school. My religion class and I help a fundraiser for this cause and raised about one thousand dollars. When I graduated I was left wondering about the organization because I stopped keeping up with their website. When given this assignment, my old religion teacher had sent me an email thanking me about the money we had been able to raise, and she was hoping to do it again this year. That is when I knew that my blog was going to be about Fair Trade. I was so excited to keep myself educated about this topic. 

Social Justice

Social justice and equality for all. We are so lucky to be living in a country like the United States. We are all given the opportunities to succeed. We live in a country where the poor can become rich and the rich can become poor. Of course some people naturally have more advantages than others, but this country gives us all the tools that we need to succeed. Sadly, this is not the case in a lot of other countries around the world. Many african and latin american countries are not able to provide their citizens with the opportunity to prosper and make a better life for themselves. Fair Trade is changing all of that. The people with all the money tend to have all the power and they make the rules. There are so many hard working farmers and farm workers out there that are being cheated every day. How was this fair? These men and women are doing all of the hard labor that no one else wants to do and are being paid almost nothing. This is where Fair Trade comes in and helps fix this situation and bring justice to all of these hard workers. What happens is that the middle man is who buys these products, like coffee, extremely under priced, cause a rippling effect on everyone. While the product is being sold at an extremely low price, that leaves very little money to be circulated around and no one is able to make even a bearable amount of money. Fair Trade was created and let the world know what was going on, and why these people were being cheated. The solution was to create Fair Trade Certified products that guaranteed that they were produced through fair means of trade and no one was cheated out of money. The list of Fair Trade certified products include:

1. Coffee (available on campus)
2. Chocolate
3. Sugar
4. Jewelry
5. Flowers
6. Cotton
7. Fruits
8. Vegetables 
9. Beauty Products
10. Gold
11. Juices
12. Teas
13. Honey
14. Beer
15. wine

As you can see, the list goes on and on. I was in complete shock when I saw how many certified Fair Trade products there really are, the possibilities are endless! Of course it is not that easy to convince everyone to stop buying the products that they have been buying their whole lives and just all of a sudden switch to only Fair Trade products. A way to get more consumers to want to buy these products is through publicity. My theory is that is Fair Trade got more publicity and more people knew what it really was and understood its purpose, the consumers would all want to start buying these products. Yes Fair Trade products have gotten a bit of publicity, but I think they need major spokesmen and spokeswomen, people with great respect and a great deal of fame. I am doing my part in publicizing it through my blog and to all of my fellow classmates, the goal is to get as much people on board with this as possible.

Individual Stories

While I was doing my research, I came across some pretty amazing people who have done some pretty amazing things to benefit the Fair Trade movement. Not many people are willing to get up from their comfort zone and go explore this problem that is located in third world countries. One of the individuals that really caught my attention is a woman by the name of Isabel Uriarte. This woman has been doing amazing things for not only the men, but especially the women who work the coffee farms and fields in the country of Peru. Isabel Uriarte stood up for these women that were not only being under paid but they were also being mistreated and abused in the work place. Isabel saw how much this was affecting not only these women, but everyone in their households as well. She started making changes with the trade and who the coffee was sold to and assured Fair Trade. Now these women are being paid and are able to lead better lives. People do not understand how much this really affects people, its more than these people being underpaid and mistreated, but they also suffer from horrible malnourishment and do not receive the proper education to keep up with todays expectations. Isabel Uriarte made it a mission to change all of this and brought nothing but good to the women of Peru. 

Conclusion

As I have stated before in the beginning of this essay, I learned so many good things from this assignment. Ultimately I want people to know that we should always stand up for what is right. We have a voice and we  should all learn how to use it for good causes! I would definitely like to keep exploring this topic and watch it grow while still supporting it. Fair Trade has honestly changed me and the things that I buy now. I really can not wait to see how much it grows over the next two years. This hybrid essay is my conclusion to this blog, but not for this cause.  

Work cited 

"Fair Trade USA | Every Purchase Matters." Fair Trade USA | Every Purchase Matters. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. <http://www.fairtradeusa.org/>.