The Advantages and Disadvantages of Tea Production in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda in Relation to Fair-Trade

Recently people have become more and more conscious of what they put into their bodies and where it comes from. An unprecedented amount of information is now readily available to most Americans with the advent of the Internet. This has resulted in a great increase in transparency of the many aspects of imported products. Consequently, programs have been established to help ensure that these products are produced in more ethical and humane ways. To many Americans, the Fair Trade labeled bags of coffee they purchase that give them the energy they need to go about their day in addition to being a socially conscious decision but to many it is a means for survival and an escape from a cycle of debt that traps many similar non-Fair Trade growers generation after generation

How did tea transform English society? Who were its main consumers and what were some of the new rituals that surrounded tea?

- Health and well being is currently a booming market, Honest Tea already has a strong “foundation” and they can capitalise on that

Once established as England's national drink, tea imports from first China and India led to massive trade. The book describes the power of the British East India Company, which “generated more revenue than the British government and ruled over far more people,”

Fair trade was supported by people who believed that there were inherent flaws in the capitalistic system and trading system around the world (Handmade Expressions)

Saberi, H. (2010). Tea Comes to the West. In Tea:A Global History. [Adobe Digital Editions Version]. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/

Threat of Substitutes: There are various substitutes for fair trade coffee in the industry such as regular coffee, tea etc but not only coffees but in the general beverages market e.g. Coca Cola, Water etc. As a result of this there is a very high threat of substitutes.

According to Lyon, Bezaury, & Mutersbaugh (2010), Fair-trade is a “process which helps improve the well-being and economic stability of disempowered farmers, by using certified commodity-chains to foster development”. For the KHC company, Fair-trade is essential because they want to provide and endorse exceptional coffee beans that they are proud to use; that means, “using coffee that is good and fair for both our coffee drinkers and for farmers are essential” (Kicking Horse Coffee, n.d.). In fact, over the past 20 years, Kicking Horse won numerous awards in many categories, including Canada’s Fastest- Growing Companies, Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs, Canada's Favourite Fair-trade Product and number 15 Best Workplace in Canada (Kicking Horse Coffee, n.d.).

Tea, known to Asia as a luxury used for medicinal purposes, became a way of life for Europeans. It served as a huge asset towards the growth of Europe and Britain’s status as a world power.

Part II. Allowing free trade between countries can be beneficial, but it also imposes costs. Use the ITT Tech Virtual Library to research costs and benefits of allowing free trade. Discuss aspects of international trade that some may consider unfair. For example: i. Distribution of costs and benefits of free trade. In other words, does everyone share in the gains and the costs equally? ii. iii. Competing with different labor restrictions (or lack of), such as slave or child labor. Differences in environmental standards. Answers vary.

Fair Trade’s consumer recognition has tripled in the last five years, proving the company’s sustainability in a global market. As of today, this organization works with more than 800 companies to verify more than 6,000 products as Fair Trade. In 2009, Fair Trade Certified products generated $1.2 billion in retail sales, indicating their large-scale business practices.

2009). This in itself shows the high standards of sustainability can be made from free trade (Gidney, M. 2009). Fair trade provides two key benefits that can help with the current world economic crisis. First it provides sustained benefits for producers that can help maintain their business through fluctuations of the world market (Gidney, M. 2009). Second, fair trade helps to maintain fair prices, additional social premium, and long-term partnerships that help provide better living standards for millions of people in over 60 countries (Gidney, M. 2009).

Knowing Chinese tea culture thoroughly is a wise way for people to explore the Chinese society and culture. As a traditional drink, it has been planted and consumed for over five thousands years. The climate of China is perfect for growing tea, which leads to large quantities and good quality of tea. According to the line diagram, “Dynamics of manufacture of tea in China, thousand tons” there were about 1,200 thousands tons of tea manufactured in 2008, which made China the biggest tea manufacture country in the world. As we can see, tea has a special position in Chinese society. Due to its popularity, Chinese tea gradually raises international interest, and leads China to be a more influential country in the

Relevance: This is relevant to everyone because tea has a lot of positive health outcomes, that are beneficial to all of us.

The fair trade concept, based on the idea of both economic activity and social development, is replete with ethical and sustainable echoes. Ransom (2002 p 20) asks, 'can the