Information on Fair Trade

According to a Mori poll in 2003 one in four people in the U.K. recognised the Fairtrade Mark. And, apparently, most of these people had heard about fair trade through word of mouth. Today many more have heard of fair trade but some are still confused about what exactly it means. For a start, why is it sometimes written as one word and sometimes two? The answer is simple: ‘fairtrade’ is a term registered by the Fairtrade Foundation and largely focuses on agricultural produce; ‘fair trade’ is the term used for craft, jewellery, clothing and other goods produced under very similar guidelines to fairtrade produce.

What does fair trade involve? 

Fair trade is largely about paying a decent, living wage to producers in poor countries for their produce and products. But it's not just about a fair price for goods, it also includes fair working conditions and a generally more cooperative way of working. IFAT (International Federation for Fair Trade) fair trade producers set the price they want for the products they make and fair trade buyers do not hide the final selling price from the producers. They work together in partnership, establishing a long-term relationship with transparency and accountability.

Working conditions should ensure there is gender equity, which practically means that more women are generally employed than men since women are often more marginalised and can be better at ensuring that children benefit from any income earned. Naturally there is no children labour and one of the key criteria is respect for the environment.

Why did fairtrade come into being?

The need for fairtrade arose because the price of some commodities, such as tea and coffee, can fall dramatically in a very short space of time and this has a horrific effect on poor producers in developing countries (India, for instance, as well as much of Africa, South America and South Asia). So, for example, although the price of your coffee, tea and cocoa remains the same or rises, the farmer who's growing it may not even cover the cost of producing it. This is largely because what the farmer gets paid in real terms hasn't risen over the last forty years but the price of fertilisers, pesticides and machinery has increased greatly.

As we know, small scale farmers in the UK and other wealthy countries can also be forced into debt because they cannot get a price that covers their costs but in developing countries there are far fewer safety nets.

The price of coffee hit a particular low in the late eighties and early nineties, forcing many small farmers into crippling debt and countless others to lose their land and homes. Something had to be done. Solidaridad was working with coffee farmers in southern Mexico when the farmers explained that what they needed was a fair price for their coffee – in fact, trade not aid. And so, on 15^th November 1988 Max Havelaar, known as the Certification Pioneer, launched the first fairtrade certified label for coffee.

Was this really the beginning?

Many point to alternative trade organizations as the forerunners of fair trade. In the late 1940s several churches in North America and Europe sold handicrafts to Northern markets on behalf of refugees and other poverty stricken communities. Unlike conventional trading structures, these Alternative Trade Organizations (ATOs) offered higher returns to producers in the developing world through direct trade and fair prices.

In 1965 Oxfam started a Helping by Selling Scheme which was very similar in its ethos to fair trade. This helped craft producers to make and market their products to Western countries.

Development agencies and charities realised they could form a link between consumers and producers which would really help guarantee farmers and other producers better prices by buying from them direct at guaranteed prices. Although these organisations started selling the products in charity shops and alternative outlets, it's now pretty mainstream and you can at least buy fairtrade tea and coffee from most supermarkets.

Is fair trade just about food and drink?

No, fair trade is not just all about food and farmers though produce is the area that's growing the most quickly and is the most successful so far. After all, it’s immediately obvious that we need tea, coffee, sugar (and chocolate too!) but less obvious that most of the things we buy are produced overseas.

Should I just be buying organic and local?

Many people are worried about their carbon footprint and how much they are contributing to climate change. It’s really helpful to be a more conscious consumer as most of the more disastrous effects of climate change are felt by the poorest in developing countries. However, there’s no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Few of us want to wear exclusively wool and give up tea, coffee, sugar, rice and other stapes from overseas. Instead it seems more sensible to question where your goods come from and how they are produced. If you support people who are being well paid, you may be able to buy less but you should feel more satisfied with your purchases. Ask yourself the question, “Who benefits?”

Who are the producers? 

Fair trade groups actively seek to employ marginalised and disadvantaged producers, so practically a large percentage is often women.

Today most of the IFAT fair trade artisans work and trade as cooperatives and so not only can they support each other in terms of skills' training, but they negotiate their own working conditions together, share design skills and marketing expertise, and all this helps build each other's confidence.

Some of the groups are very well established  - Undugu, a Kenyan group, has been going for 30 years. Undugu supports street children in Nairobi by marketing the handicrafts of over 800 producers many of whom are women.

What do the buyers here do? 

Buyers agree to pay a price fixed by the group, share design and marketing ideas, and commit to a long term working relationship rather than simply trying to source a quick profit and move on.

They need to find markets to sell to here and decide what people in the wealthy north will want to buy. This is a challenging task as consumers have seemingly limitless choice and are very over-marketed to in general. It can be tough to ask people to pay more for a product when so many stores are selling the cheap option. Buyers have to constantly remind people that cheap means the producer won’t even get a living wage and even if we, as shoppers, try and ignore this, we all know it’s unacceptable.

Why support fair trade?

Obviously, fair trade is a great idea. It is growing in popularity because it is about social justice, greater equality, dignity and choice. We all want to be treated well and fairly whether we live in a rich or poor country. We are born with a sense of fairness and justice - it is part of our common humanity and we are all diminished by the ever-widening gap between rich and poor. And we can do something about it.

You can change things, just a little, every time you shop. Your choices are like the ripples on the pond, they send out greater waves to the wider world and in this way we make a better, more positive future for us all.

Watch Barb's BBC Interview