To Ecuador, With Love

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Busch asks a fair question: Why don’t shoppers buy their roses locally from him, rather than through fair trade? He pays workers better, has a smaller global footprint because of transportation issues, and is subject to strict U.S. regulations about control of toxins.

The rose issue is much bigger than a social premium going back to Ecuador, he contends. “Solve the immigration problem so we don’t have such a disparity of income between countries,” he says.

Michael Conroy is a Hemingwayesque raconteur with a Ph.D. in economics and fluency in both Spanish and Texas-style B.S. Conroy has studied, taught, and promoted the notion that idealists can persuade corporations that it is both right and lucrative to make a product that doesn’t do harm to their workers or the environment.

A former professor at the University of Texas and author of Branded!: How the Certification Revolution Is Transforming Global Corporations, Conroy is one of my companions during a weeklong tour of Ecuador’s Fair Trade Certified rose farms. He is the board chairman of TransFair USA, which sponsored the trip.

Conroy has heard arguments against fair trade from the right (the market reveals whether consumers care about working conditions) and the left (companies can “fairwash” their image by token adherence to certification standards). He has traveled the world for several organizations committed to improving global trade, and he thinks the progress that has been made in the past 15 years is remarkable.

“These programs give consumers a direct ability to contribute to resolving major social and environmental problems around the world through every dollar that they spend,” says Conroy. “Fair trade promotes a more equitable model of globalization.”

Conroy calls the move into fair trade roses part of a “certification revolution.” For the first time, he says, consumers have a way of fighting back against giant corporations and forcing them to treat the earth and their workers better.

Conroy addresses Busch’s complaint like this: Studies show that roses grown in an equatorial climate have a smaller carbon footprint than those grown in cold northern locations. If Busch can prove through an unbiased third party that he meets all standards and compliances, and provides a social premium to the community, then, says Conroy, “Minnesotans should buy from him.”

As our caravan of SUVs travels from farm to farm, Conroy is determined to show me some of fair trade’s successes. Over several days, we visit four farms, talk with dozens of employees both in front of their bosses and in private, and see firsthand some of the social benefits that have already come from the nascent program.

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