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An important extension of the Fair Trade mechanism to the US market occurred in 2000 when Starbucks announced the introduction of a blend of Fair Trade coffee certified by the non-profit TransFair organization that encourages farmer co-operatives in developing countries to sell direct to coffee roasters or retailers. The breakthrough with Starbucks came after some of its coffee houses were vandalized during anti-globalization protests at a World Trade Organization meeting hosted in the company's hometown of Seattle, Washington. This initiative complemented Starbucks' broader social responsibility programs and helped expand Fair Trade coverage in the United States beyond craft shops and a few grocery stores. Subsequent discussions between Starbucks and Oxfam also led to cooperation on a project to aid coffee growers in poverty-stricken areas of Ethiopia.

Wage standards represent one of the most problematic labor issues in code of conduct debates. The wage debate revolves around the question of where to set an ethical minimum wage rate. Traditional choices involved either the local legal minimum wage or the local industry market wage (that may fall below the legal minimum where laws are not well enforced). In many developing countries, neither choice appears ethically acceptable to civil society groups. Governments often set legal minimum wage rates low as an incentive to attract foreign investment and promote labor-based exports. In these countries, excess labor acts as a competitive economic factor endowment, meaning market forces of supply and demand also repress wage rates. Under these circumstances, either standard can leave workers with insufficient money to live, even well below the local poverty line.

The concept of a living wage attempts to address this issue by setting an ethical minimum wage rate based on a worker's survival needs rather than other possible distributive justice standards such as contribution (productivity), equality, seniority, etc. The normative argument draws on the employee's position as a central stakeholder to whom the firm owes a strong social responsibility (Drucker, 1984; pg. 2). A major difficulty, however, lies in defining “living wage.” For example, while providing enough money for minimum survival requirements appears reasonable, agreement rapidly disappears as the list of included items lengthens: food, clothing, housing, health care, transport, education, savings, etc. If a list of items is agreed and priced by the local cost of living, troublesome questions still remain regarding, for example, whether a worker's salary should provide only for that person or also for family members (spouse, children/how many, extended family). Wage-related standards may also conflict; for instance, two workers, one single and the other the head of a large household, might require a different minimum living wage, but such a differential would conflict with an equal pay for equal work standard.

Many companies, including mining conglomerates object to extending social responsibility beyond the direct employee relationship, particularly in cultures where large extended family ties are common and important. Living wage standards, particularly if liber本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。