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Why are Europeans so much more aware of Fair Trade and product certification than Americans are?
There is no simple answer. The European press pays more attention and writes about these issues more frequently than in the US. Countries like the Netherlands have had PR campaigns on TV for both Fair Trade and FSC certification. Businesses have been quicker in Europe to support social and environmental standards and certification makes their priorities visible to the public. For example, half of Swedish forests are FSC certified while only 2-3% of US Forests are.
Why don't Home Depot and IKEA advertise FSC certification?
The answer seems to be that Home Depot doesn't want to discourage customers from buying its non-FSC wood. Home Depot is not able to get enough FSC wood to satisfy current demand because US timber companies have by and large
ignored FSC.
IKEA already has its own strict environmental standards and doesn't want to distinguish between their brand and FSC's.
FSC would prefer that IKEA and other companies display the FSC label, but is very appreciative of IKEA's preference for FSC wood.
What are the FSC standards for different bio-regions?
FSC standards are set by regional groups representing timber companies, environmental groups, timber and mill workers and indigenous people. The groups apply the broad FSC principles locally. For example, small clear-cuts are permitted in mostly level plantation type forests as in Sweden but not on steep slopes or with old growth as in British Columbia. Different forests have different "conservation values" which must be preserved. In some areas, agreements must be worked out with indigenous groups that have used the forest for subsistence, as with the Sami herders in Lappland. One size does not fit all because forest ecosystems are so different.
For more information, check out FSC's Policies and Standards at:
FSC > What is FSC? > Policies & Standards
http://www.fsc.org/en/about/policy_standards/princ_criteria
What are other Fair Trade products?
Since Fair Trade seeks to help producers and workers in economically disadvantaged regions most Fair Trade products are agricultural: coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, juice, honey, banana, fresh fruit and vegetable, nut and seed oil, herb and spice, cut flower, dried fruit, rice, cotton, quinoa, wine grapes. But there are other products as well, including some unexpected ones like soccer balls! Many examples of Fair Trade products can be found at the Transfair USA web site:
Transfair USA > Shop > Fair Trade Products
http://www.transfairusa.org/content/shop/products.php
How does a town become a Fair Trade town?
The U.S. has no Fair Trade town standards but many U.S. municipalities are looking into the possibility. The British Fair Trade Foundation sets standards which include the number of businesses that sell Fair Trade products, a resolution passed by the city or town council declaring support for Fair Trade, education about Fair Trade, use of Fair Trade products by organizations in the town and other minimums. More information can be found at
The Fairtrade Foundation, London, UK > Get Involved > Fairtrade towns
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved_fairtrade_towns.htm
Why is it so cheap to grow coffee in Vietnam & Brazil? What are the differences between Arabica & Robusta coffee?
Arabica is high-quality specialty coffee (30% of world production) generally grown in mountainous regions under shade, and often organically. It matures more slowly than Robusta which is lower quality and goes into canned coffees. Robusta is often grown in full sun and in less mountainous regions. It is cheaper because it matures quickly and in many cases can be harvested by machine which is much cheaper than harvesting by manual labor.
As a poor country looking to enter the world market 1990s, Vietnam began growing the cheaper and faster producing Robusta, eventually leading to an international oversupply and price crash which pushed over 25 million people into poverty.
International Coffee Organization > About Coffee > Botanical
http://www.ico.org/botanical.asp
International Coffee Organization > About Coffee > Coffee Crisis
http://www.ico.org/crisis.asp
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