Certification Thoughts - Helping Some While Hurting Others?

I had an interesting conversation with someone at Wine Concepts, one of many wine shops on Kloof St, just down the way from my hostel. As I walked by I was drawn in by the bottle displayed front and center - it was Fair Trade USA certified. In efforts to accustom myself to Fair Trade USA certified wine before heading to Stellenbosch tomorrow, I asked the sales associate if they sold any other lines of Fair Trade certified wine. His answer was unexpected - "In South Africa all wineries are fair and BEE regardless of what the label says. We only source our wine from estates and growers who practice fair and sustainable methods. Every worker on the estate helps out and shares profits." Did I believe him one bit? Hello no, but kudos to you - diplomatic answer indeed.

After explaining to him why I was asking if they sold wines specifically Fair Trade USA certified, his initial answer made a little bit more sense. He was comparing the concept of BEE to US's Affirmative Action. By paying attention to such labels such as Fair Trade certified, BWI (Biodiversity & Wine Initiative, an environmental-related certification), or BEE its placing those companies on a pedestal and by default claiming that other companies aren't committed to fair trade, biodiversity, or BEE practices. So back to his Affirmative Action example - its like if businesses in the US had to be certified to advertise the commonly used phrase "we hire regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation". While the certification process definitely helps businesses who comply with strict guidelines of any certification label, at the same time it hurts those who are not. When for all we know, they may very well may be employing the 'fairest' practices of them all. Who's to judge?

Further the man said fact is, South Africa is home to the world's top-class wineries. Pressuring businesses to 'get certified in this, and adhere to standards of that' only endangers what consumers care about - the quality of the final product! This picked my brain a little. Usually I'll buy a product because of its certification label - a testament of the company's commitment to a societal good, whether it be environmental, economic, or promoting equality. And then if the wine, in this case, tastes good... icing on the cake! But by paying too much attention to certifications, I'm limiting my selection choice to the best of the best within the small percentage of certified products available on the market. Perhaps as learned today, we should value a product for its taste, craftsmanship, and beauty first and then investigate the fairness of its business practices second?