In recent years, it has become apparent that the new system of globalization and free trade has too often degenerated into one of crude exploitation of people and the environment in the developing world.

Workers typically make scandalously low wages and work long hours under unhealthy, demeaning conditions, all in a political climate that makes it impossible, even dangerous, for them to organize to improve their lot.

Poor countries are locked in a vicious Catch-22 situation, what has been dubbed the "global race to the bottom" because they must use low wages, cheap natural resources and lax environmental standards to compete for foreign investment.

Three examples:

* Haitian workers get paid 9 cents in labor for sewing a Disney sweatshirt that sells for $25.

* The United Nations has documented that wages for unskilled workers have dropped 20 percent to 30 percent in developing countries that open themselves to the free-trade system, a trend that is worsening with China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

* When workers in a U.S. factory in Nicaragua tried to organize, the company fired them. When that was exposed in the U.S., the company moved to an Asian country where labor unions are prohibited.

As one writer noted, when you see a really good deal in the store, it is almost certainly the result of overseas sweatshop conditions. It is an unfortunate but inescapable fact that the cheap consumer goods we buy are the last link in a chain that is based on the poverty of people who do not have the means or education to climb out of their misery.

For those who scoff at this proposition, consider the myriad corporate scandals that have been exposed in the last year. If corporate leaders are willing to lie and defraud their own employees and investors in order to enrich themselves, how do you think they will treat a bunch of helpless Third World peasants?

Happily, there is a developing alternative for those who care about the broader implications of their purchasing: fair trade.

Fair trade is based on a business model that puts workers and the environment first, not last. Fair-trade businesses buy from producers that are committed to the following criteria in their relationships with farmers and workers:

* Cooperative and healthy workplaces that provide workers with a large degree of self-determination.

* Pay a "living wage," i.e., one that ensures that workers are paid enough to meet their basic daily living needs.

* Environmental sustainability.

* Respect for cultural identity.

*Transparency and public accountability in their trading relationships.

This is more than a politically correct marketing strategy. It really works. For example, millions of small- to medium-scale coffee growers all over the world have been devastated by plummeting prices in the last couple of years; fair trade farmers are thriving.

Fair-trade concepts hold the promise of transforming globalization into a force that benefits the mass of humanity, not just the rich.

Because these businesses pay higher wages and because these goods are produced on a human rather than a massive corporate scale, they are somewhat more expensive.

Most Fairbanksans can afford it. This holiday season, why not buy gifts that benefit those who make as well as those who receive them?

At this time, fair trade is a fledgling movement that is focused on coffee and chocolate.

Both products are available at Fred Meyer stores. Fair-trade coffee is sold at the Alaska Coffee Roasting Co. on Geist Road. Clothing and jewelry boutiques such as The Magic Carpet and the Brasil Nuts have unofficially been practicing fair trade for years.

If you are interested in more information on this topic, see www.coopamerica.org. Coop America is an excellent nonprofit at the forefront of fair trade, "green consumerism" and socially responsible investing.

Larry Landry lives in Fairbanks.