Happy Earth Day! – 5 Fair Trade Documentaries to Watch Now!

While defining what exactly Fair Trade is in one sentence is nearly impossible, a few documentaries can help explain and define just some of the problems we face throughout the world. Many documentaries that discuss topics on sustainability can only grasp a small piece of what Fair Trade is all about. Here are a few documentaries that cover different topics:

1. The Dark Side of Chocolate (2010)

A team of journalists investigate how human trafficking and child labor aged from 7 to 15 years old in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry with the promise of paid work. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations.

2. Dukale’s Dream (2014)

Hugh Jackman flies to Ethiopia as part of World Vision's initiative to bring attention to their success in raising people out of poverty. Hugh spends an entire day in the fields with a coffee grower named Dukale who is working hard to lift his family out of poverty. Spending time on Dukale's farm, Hugh learned first-hand about the value of fair trade coffee. Upon returning to New York, Hugh was invited to speak at UN Climate Week where he made an impassioned plea to world leaders to provide support for farmers like Dukale, noting something as simple as a cup of coffee had the power to reduce global poverty. Hugh was so inspired by Dukale, he launched Laughing Man Coffee, trading directly with the growers and donating 100% of the profit to support community development programs and social entrepreneurs around the world.

3. The True Cost (2015)

This is a story about clothing. It's about the clothes we wear, the people who make those clothes and the impact it's having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking new documentary film that pulls back the curtain on an unseen part of our world and asks us each to consider, who pays the price for our clothing? Filmed in countries all over the world from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, this features interviews with the world's leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth, Vandana Shiva and many more. This unprecedented project invites us all on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.

4. Connected by Coffee (2014)

This tells the story of Latin American coffee farmers and how our daily brew is deeply connected to a troubled past and hopeful future. Following a 1000-mile journey from Mexico to Nicaragua, the film will show how equitable trading relationships are empowering communities and bringing social justice.

5. The People and the Olive (2014)

This documentary is a feature-length documentary about the daily struggles and joys of Palestinian olive farmers. When a group of American ultra-marathoners sets out to run 129 miles in 5 days across the West Bank they discover that in replanting uprooted olive trees they are planting hope and building cultural bridges.