This story in The Telegraph says what I’ve long suspected to be the case — that the “fair trade” campaign aimed at boosting incomes for growers of certain products (coffee being the most conspicuous) don’t work. They make some growers marginally better off, but at the same time make others worse off.
It gives lots of Americans a warm glow to believe that when they purchase a brand of coffee that’s “fair trade,” they’re doing their part to alleviate global poverty, but apparently that’s just wishful thinking.
