farms , child slaves harvest coffee beans as well as the cacao pods . More than 7,000 tons of Côte d ’ Ivoire coffee arrives in the U . S . each year . Just like with chocolate , coffee beans picked by slaves are often mixed together with those picked by paid workers . Some coffee industry executives acknowledge the use of slaves , but say the labor issue isn ’ t their concern . The U . S . is the world ’ s largest consumer of both chocolate and coffee .
To become Fairtrade Certified , an importer must meet tight international regulations including paying the farmers a certain minimum price . This is a major step , because coffee prices on the world market currently run very low , trapping many coffee farmers in poverty , debt , and hunger . When consumers purchase Fairtrade coffee or chocolate , they know that their money is going to local farmers where it will be invested in health care , education , environmental care , community development , and economic independence . They know it ’ s not going to CEOs who are making millions annually . It is not easy to swallow the reality of such excess when millions of coffee and cocoa farmers around the world who depend on their harvests to provide for their families are facing debt and starvation . There seems to be something particularly hideous and sad about making this kind of money on the backs of the world ’ s poorest people .
3.4 Other heroes
Many oriental carpets used to be hand-woven by adult and child slaves who were forced to work in the most miserable of conditions for little or no pay . But then some European activists working from a tiny office with minimal funds started the Rugmark Campaign . In order to earn the “ Rugmark ,” carpet producers had to agree to cooperate with independent monitors , not to exploit children , and to turn over one percent of their carpet wholesale price to child-welfare organizations . An expert monitoring team was created that can detect fake labels and knows carpet making inside and out . The one percent from the producers has now built and staffed two Rugmark schools in the part of India where uneducated children were at risk of being used for the slave trade . The campaign has drawn the attention of other organizations , with the result that the German government and the
22