What's New in Fair Trade and Trade Issues
Fair Trade Update -- July 2010
Dear Fair Trade contacts,
It is now feeling quite tropical outside, so it's appropriate that this issue of our Fair Trade Update starts off in South Africa and Dominica, one of the Windward Islands. This message also contains an update from the Fairtrade Foundation, some good ideas from the Swedish Fairtrade Church campaign, and advance notice of themes for next year's Fairtrade Fortnight and Big Brew.
Please do also send notes of what you are doing, and remember that we can include announcements . . . .
1. Fairplay for Africa
2. Fairtrade and the Environment: Dominica
3. Update from the Fairtrade Foundation
4. Good ideas from other Fairtrade campaigns . . . Sweden (Part 1)
5. Fairtrade Fortnight and Big Brew 2010
1. Fairplay for Africa
We may be out of the World Cup, but the eyes of at least some of us still turn occasionally towards the football in South Africa . . . . In honour of the football festivities there, the Fairtrade Foundation and Traidcraft are emphasising the role that Fairtrade plays in assisting some of the most vulnerable people in the host country. Click here to see the Fairtrade Foundation's resources, which include a report on the impact of Fairtrade in South Africa, some FAQs about Fairtrade in that country, photographs and stories about producers. Click here to see some of Traidcraft's South African products.
2. Fairtrade and the Environment: Dominica
In April of this year, I spent some time in Dominica, one of the Windward Islands, looking at banana production. One focus of the trip was the way Fairtrade is helping the banana industry in Dominica to become more environmentally sustainable.
Dominica is part of a volcanic island arc, the “Lesser Antilles,” that stretches from the Virgin Islands to the islands just off of Venezuela's coast. The youngest island in the group, it shows evidence of its volcanic origins in a rugged, mountainous landscape. Dominica also manifests current volcanic activity – it has, for example, the world's second largest boiling lake.
The most striking thing about Dominica, though, is its largely unspoiled nature and exceptional beauty. The island is still overwhelmingly forest-covered, with an abundance of clear, fresh water. The flora and fauna are extraordinary.
Dominicans treasure their natural home: the island's motto is “Après Bondie, C'est La Ter ” – “After God is the Earth.” Wherever you go, people speak with delight about their rivers, green spaces and birds. Aware that this beauty is perhaps Dominica's greatest resource, many people and groups are working to protect it, and the Government is marketing the country to tourists as "the nature island of the Caribbean"
As Dominica seeks economic development, therefore, it needs to ensure that the activities that generate income don't have a negative impact on the environment. So that means well-planned eco-tourism, which enhances the attraction of natural features, rather than the kind of tourist development that could risk harming the very beauty which attracts people in the first place. Farming practices also need to be the type that help to preserve the environment. This is of particular importance in terms of banana farming. Conventional banana farming can involve the use of a range of chemicals that potentially compromise both the natural environment and the health of labourers. So work needs to be done to ensure that banana farming -- which is vital to the rural economy -- grows ever "cleaner."
Fairtrade is helping with this task. Indeed, one of the most important things Fairtrade is doing on Dominica is helping to ensure that farmers have the materials and information needed to preserve their local environment and to protect the health of all who work in the plantations.
To begin with, Fairtrade is helping to reduce the amount of chemicals used in growing bananas. One of its major contributions, for example, has been to promote mechanical, rather than chemical, weed control -- Fairtrade introduced "weed-whackers" to banana farmers with great success. Moreover if, under exceptional circumstances, someone needs to use a chemical to control weeds, the Fairtrade standards -- which have a seven-page-long list of "prohibited materials" -- ensure that the chemicals used do not include those that are most dangerous: for example weed-killers containing paraquat, which can be used in conventional farming, are banned from Fairtrade production. Fairtrade farmers are also required to have chemical-free "buffer zones" near rivers and streams.
Fairtrade has also helped sensitise farmers and labourers to the need to exercise care when they do use chemicals. One farmer says, "That's one thing I'm very happy about Fairtrade; they made farmers in Dominica realise the danger of poison.” He relates how in times gone by, lack of awareness meant that farmers would rinse out bottles that had contained toxic chemicals and use them to carry their drinking water to the fields. In fact, he notes, “One of my workers [once] tasted [a herbicide containing paraquat]. He went to hospital; he was lucky to be alive. [He said] 'Every day I spray; I don't know what it tastes like.' Now [workers] will not touch any chemical unless they have their gloves.”
There are, of course, cost implications to all this. It takes money for Fairtrade producers to have separate storage areas for chemicals, to provide proper equipment and training for those applying them, to create facilities to dispose safely of waste products (such as the mild fungicide solution that bananas are washed in to preserve fruit quality), and to keep detailed records of all their environmental practices. And approved chemicals are often more expensive than their non-approved counterparts.
The Fairtrade system, however, holds the potential to help farmers with these issues. When Dominica's farmers converted to Fairtrade (and simultaneously began to engage with a major supermarket's environmental certification process), the Fairtrade system helped to pay for the necessary capital improvements: storage space, tanks of potable water for washing fruit, toilet and washing facilities on site, etc. The Dominica National Fair Trade Organisation (DNFTO), which manages Fair Trade on the island, also employs agricultural extension workers who help farmers deal with the paperwork involved in receiving and maintaining the various Fairtrade and environmental certifications. And while the high cost of chemical inputs (a category which covers fertilisers, materials to combat banana diseases, etc) remains a matter of considerable concern -- pretty well all of the farmers to whom I spoke mentioned it as an issue -- the Fairtrade contract recently negotiated by the DNFTO should help farmers to have higher returns, enabling them to purchase the necessary products.
Better returns are actually essential to sustainable, environmentally friendly development. One of the DNFTO's extension workers, Cletus Joseph explains, "One cannot go without the other. If you have a farmer making the returns that he deserves, that he requires . . . the farmer will have no problems in implementing techniques, methodologies that show sustainability of our resources."
The DNFTO has high hopes that farmers will be able to progress even further on the environmental front, and is actively seeking ways for this to happen. Its staff are participating in a regional initiative -- largely funded by Guadeloupe and Martinique, where the chemicals that are used in banana farming have damaged water supplies -- that seeks to reduce even further chemical use in banana farming. They hope to introduce some of the techniques involved to Dominica. Another of the DNFTO's projects involves teaching farmers ways of preserving biodiversity in their land -- something which is part of the integrated management they need to do for their Tesco Nurture certification. Last year, the focus was on birds. This year it's on lizards. For this project, the DNFTO field staff are receiving training on the different species of local lizard, their role in the eco-system, and what to do to protect and conserve them. They then pass this information to the farmers with whom they work. The DNFTO is also working alongside the Dominica Organic Agricultural Movement, which seeks to promote organic farming on the island.
The DNFTO has also used some of the money from the social premium for environmental development. Their flagship project is a facility which collects household and commercial food waste from villages and turns it into compost, which is then sold to farmers, the Government and others. When I visited the facility, they had just sold 1,300 pounds of compost to the Ministry of Agriculture. They people who run the facility are also developing an onsite garden where they can experiment with using the compost and liquid fertiliser produced as part of the composting process to raise healthier plants. There is even the hope that in the long term the facility and a nearby banana plantation can be turned into a sustainable tourism destination.
There's still a lot of work to be done, and one of the concerns in the fiercely competitive banana market is that if returns aren't good enough, farmers will lose patience with the higher costs and increased hassle involved with environmentally friendly farming and go back to cheaper, less environmentally friendly methods. But it is impressive to see the way that Fairtrade is contributing to environmental sustainability on Dominica. And it's something worth mentioning if, in your churches, people occasionally seek to oppose concern for Fairtrade to concern for environmental issues. The two aren't in conflict; rather, they are both part of sustainable development.
3. Update from the Fairtrade Foundation
CCOW and the Church of England are both stakeholder members of the Fairtrade Foundation's Fairtrade Churches campaign. The stakeholder group had a recent meeting where we heard a lot of very interesting news from the Foundation. Some highlights were:
- The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) which regulates the Fairtrade label has authorised a number of Fairtrade standards for new product categories, and has several more coming up. Among the standards being introduced in 2010 are vegetables, pulses, rubber and timber. These new categories present significant opportunities for new producers to participate in just markets.
- The Fairtrade Foundation's efforts to do more work with producers in fragile states means that we'll soon be seeing in our shops products from some of the world's most war-torn and vulnerable places. Coming this year is coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo; look out for raisins from Afghanistan in the future. This is Fairtrade on the front line, and a real contribution towards creating more peaceful, stable societies.
- Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 was a great success in terms of awareness raising and activities. There were over 1,000,000 "swaps" to Fairtrade products and 12,000 special Fairtrade Fortnight events. All the good work on events and awareness-raising that campaigners do in the Fortnight (and beyond) is having an effect, too. 74% of people surveyed in February of this year were aware of the Fairtrade mark, and 67% understood roughly what it means.
- The Big Brew went national for the first time in 2010, and it was extremely successful. There were more than 3,000 events, and 4,000 campaign cards asking major tea companies to go Fairtrade were returned to Traidcraft -- and then forwarded on to the companies in question. Watch this space to see what impact campaigning on tea is having . . . .
- . . . . and pray that it will be significant! Tea is one key area where Fairtrade producers are still able to sell only a tiny percentage of their production on the Fairtrade market -- just 2.8%! By contrast, UK retailers' switch to Fairtrade bananas mean that 67.2% of bananas grown by Fairtrade banana producers are sold on the Fairtrade market. Time to start getting some of the other product categories into that range . . . .
- And speaking of big numbers, an amazing statistic: there are now 6,190 registered Fairtrade churches in England and Wales.
4. Good Ideas from Other Fairtrade Campaigns . . . Sweden (Part 1)
At the beginning of June I was the diocese of Växjö for the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden's "Världens Fest" (World Festival). The festival included a presentation from the people who run the Swedish Fairtrade Churches campaign, "Kyrka för Rättvisemärkt" (Churches for Fairtrade)
The Swedish campaign is a direct offshoot of ours: apparently Swedish churches with English links returned from link visits saying that they really liked the Fairtrade Churches concept, and wanted to see it replicated at home. A lot of what the presenters were talking about, therefore, was familiar. But the campaigns aren't identical. And the Swedish campaign had the advantage of being able to take the best bits of the English campaign. . . .and also to learn from our mistakes!
I was particularly struck by their criteria for certification as a Fairtrade Church, which include a couple of items that our criteria don't. There are five criteria. Put roughly they are:
1. Fairtrade Marked Products: Churches use Fairtrade products: tea and coffee must be Fairtrade on church occasions [and the Swedish criteria suggest tea and coffee should be Fairtrade for congregants' personal occasions, too . . . ] and there must also be regular use of other Fairtrade products [which ones is left open to choice.]
2. Knowledge/Understanding: In their activities (eg work with confirmands, preaching, etc) churches spread understanding of Fairtrade questions and of the importance of using one's consumer power
3. Opinion (Increasing Awareness): Churches hold some outward-focused activities or campaigns each year to build public opinion in favour of Fair Trade. Churches also engage with Fairtrade Fokus (the Swedish Fairtrade Fortnight, which is held in October).
4. Cooperation: Churches work together with local Fairtrade City groups. They also make a strong effort to work with other parishes, religious bodies, NGOs, etc on ethical consumption.
5. Information: Churches share with each other good ideas, stories about successful events, etc, and report once a year on their activities as Fairtrade Churches to the Swedish Christian Council (which runs the programme). Each year, the church makes a formal resolution to continue being a Fairtrade Church.
Criteria 1,2 and 3 will look familiar, if a bit more rigorous and a bit more outward-focused than ours) But I also liked the emphasis on cooperation and sharing of information. What do you think of the criteria? And, taking a leaf from their book . . . anyone want to send in a story or two about how they are working with their local Fairtrade Town group, or other churches in their area? I know such cooperation is happening -- even if it's not recognised by our criteria! -- and it would be great to include some stories in our next bulletin.
5. Fairtrade Fortnight and Big Brew 2011
It may seem early to be thinking about Fairtrade Fortnight, but it will come along quickly!
So:
The dates for Fairtrade Fortnight and the Big Brew 2011 are now set: 28 February to 13 March.
The themes and product foci are set, too. Fairtrade Fortnight 2011 is going to have the theme "Show off your label" and the focus will be on Fairtrade cotton. The Big Brew will be focusing on honey. Aware that honey is a local as well as a Fairtrade food, Traidcraft is going to ask people to "create a buzz" around both options. (UK beekeepers can only supply at present 30% of our demand for honey, so the idea would be buy local where possible and Fairtrade otherwise.)
It would be good to get a small group thinking around these themes to come up with some creative ideas we could all use for the celebrations. Anyone who'd be interested in a one-off brainstorming session (with Fairtrade refreshments), please get in touch.
2. Fairtrade and the Environment: Dominica
3. Update from the Fairtrade Foundation
4. Good ideas from other Fairtrade campaigns . . . Sweden (Part 1)
5. Fairtrade Fortnight and Big Brew 2010
We may be out of the World Cup, but the eyes of at least some of us still turn occasionally towards the football in South Africa . . . . In honour of the football festivities there, the Fairtrade Foundation and Traidcraft are emphasising the role that Fairtrade plays in assisting some of the most vulnerable people in the host country. Click here to see the Fairtrade Foundation's resources, which include a report on the impact of Fairtrade in South Africa, some FAQs about Fairtrade in that country, photographs and stories about producers. Click here to see some of Traidcraft's South African products.
In April of this year, I spent some time in Dominica, one of the Windward Islands, looking at banana production. One focus of the trip was the way Fairtrade is helping the banana industry in Dominica to become more environmentally sustainable.
Dominica is part of a volcanic island arc, the “Lesser Antilles,” that stretches from the Virgin Islands to the islands just off of Venezuela's coast. The youngest island in the group, it shows evidence of its volcanic origins in a rugged, mountainous landscape. Dominica also manifests current volcanic activity – it has, for example, the world's second largest boiling lake.
The most striking thing about Dominica, though, is its largely unspoiled nature and exceptional beauty. The island is still overwhelmingly forest-covered, with an abundance of clear, fresh water. The flora and fauna are extraordinary.
Dominicans treasure their natural home: the island's motto is “Après Bondie, C'est La Ter ” – “After God is the Earth.” Wherever you go, people speak with delight about their rivers, green spaces and birds. Aware that this beauty is perhaps Dominica's greatest resource, many people and groups are working to protect it, and the Government is marketing the country to tourists as "the nature island of the Caribbean"
As Dominica seeks economic development, therefore, it needs to ensure that the activities that generate income don't have a negative impact on the environment. So that means well-planned eco-tourism, which enhances the attraction of natural features, rather than the kind of tourist development that could risk harming the very beauty which attracts people in the first place. Farming practices also need to be the type that help to preserve the environment. This is of particular importance in terms of banana farming. Conventional banana farming can involve the use of a range of chemicals that potentially compromise both the natural environment and the health of labourers. So work needs to be done to ensure that banana farming -- which is vital to the rural economy -- grows ever "cleaner."
Fairtrade is helping with this task. Indeed, one of the most important things Fairtrade is doing on Dominica is helping to ensure that farmers have the materials and information needed to preserve their local environment and to protect the health of all who work in the plantations.
To begin with, Fairtrade is helping to reduce the amount of chemicals used in growing bananas. One of its major contributions, for example, has been to promote mechanical, rather than chemical, weed control -- Fairtrade introduced "weed-whackers" to banana farmers with great success. Moreover if, under exceptional circumstances, someone needs to use a chemical to control weeds, the Fairtrade standards -- which have a seven-page-long list of "prohibited materials" -- ensure that the chemicals used do not include those that are most dangerous: for example weed-killers containing paraquat, which can be used in conventional farming, are banned from Fairtrade production. Fairtrade farmers are also required to have chemical-free "buffer zones" near rivers and streams.
Fairtrade has also helped sensitise farmers and labourers to the need to exercise care when they do use chemicals. One farmer says, "That's one thing I'm very happy about Fairtrade; they made farmers in Dominica realise the danger of poison.” He relates how in times gone by, lack of awareness meant that farmers would rinse out bottles that had contained toxic chemicals and use them to carry their drinking water to the fields. In fact, he notes, “One of my workers [once] tasted [a herbicide containing paraquat]. He went to hospital; he was lucky to be alive. [He said] 'Every day I spray; I don't know what it tastes like.' Now [workers] will not touch any chemical unless they have their gloves.”
There are, of course, cost implications to all this. It takes money for Fairtrade producers to have separate storage areas for chemicals, to provide proper equipment and training for those applying them, to create facilities to dispose safely of waste products (such as the mild fungicide solution that bananas are washed in to preserve fruit quality), and to keep detailed records of all their environmental practices. And approved chemicals are often more expensive than their non-approved counterparts.
The Fairtrade system, however, holds the potential to help farmers with these issues. When Dominica's farmers converted to Fairtrade (and simultaneously began to engage with a major supermarket's environmental certification process), the Fairtrade system helped to pay for the necessary capital improvements: storage space, tanks of potable water for washing fruit, toilet and washing facilities on site, etc. The Dominica National Fair Trade Organisation (DNFTO), which manages Fair Trade on the island, also employs agricultural extension workers who help farmers deal with the paperwork involved in receiving and maintaining the various Fairtrade and environmental certifications. And while the high cost of chemical inputs (a category which covers fertilisers, materials to combat banana diseases, etc) remains a matter of considerable concern -- pretty well all of the farmers to whom I spoke mentioned it as an issue -- the Fairtrade contract recently negotiated by the DNFTO should help farmers to have higher returns, enabling them to purchase the necessary products.
Better returns are actually essential to sustainable, environmentally friendly development. One of the DNFTO's extension workers, Cletus Joseph explains, "One cannot go without the other. If you have a farmer making the returns that he deserves, that he requires . . . the farmer will have no problems in implementing techniques, methodologies that show sustainability of our resources."
The DNFTO has high hopes that farmers will be able to progress even further on the environmental front, and is actively seeking ways for this to happen. Its staff are participating in a regional initiative -- largely funded by Guadeloupe and Martinique, where the chemicals that are used in banana farming have damaged water supplies -- that seeks to reduce even further chemical use in banana farming. They hope to introduce some of the techniques involved to Dominica. Another of the DNFTO's projects involves teaching farmers ways of preserving biodiversity in their land -- something which is part of the integrated management they need to do for their Tesco Nurture certification. Last year, the focus was on birds. This year it's on lizards. For this project, the DNFTO field staff are receiving training on the different species of local lizard, their role in the eco-system, and what to do to protect and conserve them. They then pass this information to the farmers with whom they work. The DNFTO is also working alongside the Dominica Organic Agricultural Movement, which seeks to promote organic farming on the island.
The DNFTO has also used some of the money from the social premium for environmental development. Their flagship project is a facility which collects household and commercial food waste from villages and turns it into compost, which is then sold to farmers, the Government and others. When I visited the facility, they had just sold 1,300 pounds of compost to the Ministry of Agriculture. They people who run the facility are also developing an onsite garden where they can experiment with using the compost and liquid fertiliser produced as part of the composting process to raise healthier plants. There is even the hope that in the long term the facility and a nearby banana plantation can be turned into a sustainable tourism destination.
There's still a lot of work to be done, and one of the concerns in the fiercely competitive banana market is that if returns aren't good enough, farmers will lose patience with the higher costs and increased hassle involved with environmentally friendly farming and go back to cheaper, less environmentally friendly methods. But it is impressive to see the way that Fairtrade is contributing to environmental sustainability on Dominica. And it's something worth mentioning if, in your churches, people occasionally seek to oppose concern for Fairtrade to concern for environmental issues. The two aren't in conflict; rather, they are both part of sustainable development.
- The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) which regulates the Fairtrade label has authorised a number of Fairtrade standards for new product categories, and has several more coming up. Among the standards being introduced in 2010 are vegetables, pulses, rubber and timber. These new categories present significant opportunities for new producers to participate in just markets.
- The Fairtrade Foundation's efforts to do more work with producers in fragile states means that we'll soon be seeing in our shops products from some of the world's most war-torn and vulnerable places. Coming this year is coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo; look out for raisins from Afghanistan in the future. This is Fairtrade on the front line, and a real contribution towards creating more peaceful, stable societies.
- Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 was a great success in terms of awareness raising and activities. There were over 1,000,000 "swaps" to Fairtrade products and 12,000 special Fairtrade Fortnight events. All the good work on events and awareness-raising that campaigners do in the Fortnight (and beyond) is having an effect, too. 74% of people surveyed in February of this year were aware of the Fairtrade mark, and 67% understood roughly what it means.
- The Big Brew went national for the first time in 2010, and it was extremely successful. There were more than 3,000 events, and 4,000 campaign cards asking major tea companies to go Fairtrade were returned to Traidcraft -- and then forwarded on to the companies in question. Watch this space to see what impact campaigning on tea is having . . . .
- . . . . and pray that it will be significant! Tea is one key area where Fairtrade producers are still able to sell only a tiny percentage of their production on the Fairtrade market -- just 2.8%! By contrast, UK retailers' switch to Fairtrade bananas mean that 67.2% of bananas grown by Fairtrade banana producers are sold on the Fairtrade market. Time to start getting some of the other product categories into that range . . . .
- And speaking of big numbers, an amazing statistic: there are now 6,190 registered Fairtrade churches in England and Wales.
4. Good Ideas from Other Fairtrade Campaigns . . . Sweden (Part 1) At the beginning of June I was the diocese of Växjö for the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden's "Världens Fest" (World Festival). The festival included a presentation from the people who run the Swedish Fairtrade Churches campaign, "Kyrka för Rättvisemärkt" (Churches for Fairtrade)
The Swedish campaign is a direct offshoot of ours: apparently Swedish churches with English links returned from link visits saying that they really liked the Fairtrade Churches concept, and wanted to see it replicated at home. A lot of what the presenters were talking about, therefore, was familiar. But the campaigns aren't identical. And the Swedish campaign had the advantage of being able to take the best bits of the English campaign. . . .and also to learn from our mistakes!
I was particularly struck by their criteria for certification as a Fairtrade Church, which include a couple of items that our criteria don't. There are five criteria. Put roughly they are:
1. Fairtrade Marked Products: Churches use Fairtrade products: tea and coffee must be Fairtrade on church occasions [and the Swedish criteria suggest tea and coffee should be Fairtrade for congregants' personal occasions, too . . . ] and there must also be regular use of other Fairtrade products [which ones is left open to choice.]
2. Knowledge/Understanding: In their activities (eg work with confirmands, preaching, etc) churches spread understanding of Fairtrade questions and of the importance of using one's consumer power
3. Opinion (Increasing Awareness): Churches hold some outward-focused activities or campaigns each year to build public opinion in favour of Fair Trade. Churches also engage with Fairtrade Fokus (the Swedish Fairtrade Fortnight, which is held in October).
4. Cooperation: Churches work together with local Fairtrade City groups. They also make a strong effort to work with other parishes, religious bodies, NGOs, etc on ethical consumption.
5. Information: Churches share with each other good ideas, stories about successful events, etc, and report once a year on their activities as Fairtrade Churches to the Swedish Christian Council (which runs the programme). Each year, the church makes a formal resolution to continue being a Fairtrade Church.
Criteria 1,2 and 3 will look familiar, if a bit more rigorous and a bit more outward-focused than ours) But I also liked the emphasis on cooperation and sharing of information. What do you think of the criteria? And, taking a leaf from their book . . . anyone want to send in a story or two about how they are working with their local Fairtrade Town group, or other churches in their area? I know such cooperation is happening -- even if it's not recognised by our criteria! -- and it would be great to include some stories in our next bulletin.
5. Fairtrade Fortnight and Big Brew 2011
It may seem early to be thinking about Fairtrade Fortnight, but it will come along quickly!
So:
The dates for Fairtrade Fortnight and the Big Brew 2011 are now set: 28 February to 13 March.
The themes and product foci are set, too. Fairtrade Fortnight 2011 is going to have the theme "Show off your label" and the focus will be on Fairtrade cotton. The Big Brew will be focusing on honey. Aware that honey is a local as well as a Fairtrade food, Traidcraft is going to ask people to "create a buzz" around both options. (UK beekeepers can only supply at present 30% of our demand for honey, so the idea would be buy local where possible and Fairtrade otherwise.)
It would be good to get a small group thinking around these themes to come up with some creative ideas we could all use for the celebrations. Anyone who'd be interested in a one-off brainstorming session (with Fairtrade refreshments), please get in touch.
Fair Trade Futures: Authenticity and Action
We're very excited about an upcoming conference we are helping to organise. Information below -- and special thanks to RISC (Reading International Solidarity Centre) -- it's through them that we are linking in to Partnership for Change!
Fair Trade Futures: Authenticity and Action
Saturday 7 November 2009
Said Business School, University of Oxford
A one-day conference looking at key issues for the future of Fair Trade:
-
The Economics of Virtue: How can Fair Trade continue to grow in the mainstream without being captured by Big Business?
-
Authenticity, Legitimacy and Certification: What makes Fair Trade authentically Fair Trade? How does it establish its legitimacy?
-
Accountability and Impact: How can the voice of producers be more influential in the planning of Fair Trade strategy?
-
Global Economic Trends and Sustainability: Dealing with the crisis - How the economic downturn is affecting Fair Trade.
-
Fair Trade and Trade Agreements: What is the impact of bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations on Fair Trade? A case study: Fair Trade perspectives on Economic Partnership Agreements
Bringing together leading experts, including:
-
Ian Barney, Managing Director of TWIN and TWIN Trading
-
Sergi Corbalan, Coordinator of the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (Brussels)
-
Timothy Davies, Founder, Practical Participation
-
Mike Gidney, Deputy Director of the Fairtrade Foundation
-
Louise Herring, Trade and Enterprise Manager of Comic Relief
-
Joan Karanja, CEO of Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa
-
Dorothea Klein, Fair Tracing Project
-
Safia Minney, Founder and CEO of People Tree
-
Alex Nicholls, University Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship, Skoll Centre, Said Business School, University of Oxford
-
Carry Somers, founder and CEO of Pachacuti
-
Mags Vaughan, Business Director of Traidcraft, plc
And offering participants a chance to take issues further in theoretical and practical “open space” discussions, as well as to share in a networking reception at the end of the day.
Saturday 7 November: 9.30 am - 5.00 pm (reception 5.00 to 6.00 pm)
Registration: Pippa.hichens@sbs.ox.ac.uk
Please register early to avoid disappointment as numbers are limited.
Free admission includes Conference attendance, tea and coffee, and drinks and refreshments at the reception. Lunch is not provided.
Conference Sponsors: Oxford Fair Trade Coalition; the Skoll Centre, Said Business School, University of Oxford; Christian Concern for One World; Partnership for Change
February/March 2009: Fairtrade Fortnight and the Big Brew
Excuse me, sir, we've had a report that someone has . . . umm . . .gone bananas. . . Over 390,000 people in the UK and elsewhere "went bananas" for Fairtrade by eating a Fairtrade banana during 24 hours at the end of 2009's Fairtrade Fortnight. And Fair Trade campaigners and churches in our area were among them. From Abingdon (to whose Fair Trade group thanks for this picture) to Bicester, where the Fairtrade Town group gave out 1,000 bananas to passers-by doing Saturday shopping, to Kennington, to Milton Keynes to Oxford people drew attention to one of the key Fairtrade products. (Not to worry, by the way, about this picture. The police were enjoying the festivities, and the banana isn't -- if you'll forgive the pun -- rotting in jail. And if you think that pun was bad, check out what happened when the Abingdon town blog asked for captions for this photo!)
Abingdon, and others, didn't just go bananas, though. Around the three counties churches, Mothers' Union groups, schools and others held over 130 Big Brews -- promoting Fair Trade and furthering the mission of their particular group. Amazing stuff! The ever-creative Crowthorne Mothers' Union group (see right) held a very well attended showing of the sing-along version of Mama Mia with Big Brew refreshments. The audience ranged in age from 4 to 89, and much enjoyment was had by all. The event also raised £237 for the Mothers' Union's Overseas Fund, which makes grants towards salary and travel grants for Mothers' Union workers, office equipment, transport conference and training events and projects around the world. All Saints, Milton Keynes Village, which held a Big Brew and another Fairtrade coffee morning, also raised money for a good cause; they sent £84.40 to Traidcraft Exchange, the charitable arm of Traidcraft that helps Fairtrade producers to enter the market and improve their products.
The Reverend Rosemary and Michael Payne in the parish of Hedsor and Bourne End opened their home for a "Coffee Bean" (pictured left) on the morning of Friday, 27th February. Fairtrade drinks were served to about forty neighbours and parishioners who crowded in on a gloriously sunny day. Literature, a poster display, and a Fair Trade stall were all part of the action!
An event that proved popular given the proximity of Shrove Tuesday was the pancake Big Brew. In the kitchen at St Michael and All Angels in Amersham Big Brew chefs flipped over 120 pancakes which were filled with savoury or Fairtrade honey, jam, or chocolate spread. The event was great fun, and tremendous outreach, in particular to mothers with young children, who in addition to the refreshments enjoyed making things out of playdough at an activity table. £85 profit went to the Fairtrade Foundation. St Swithun's, Kennington, also had a successful pancake event, as well as a Fairtrade quiz and a raffle of Fairtrade products.
The parish of St. Mary's, Purley, near Reading, held a morning of festivities entitled "Any Brew Will Do." To enable people to see that "there's more to Fairtrade than coffee" they provided herbal teas, fruit juices, fruit smoothies and milkshakes. There was a very popular "Make your own Fruit 'n' Choc Kebab" table (pictured right) as well as home-made Fairtrade cakes and cookies. The piece de resistance? An appearance by the Purley Puppets (left) who explained how to make banana bread and did standup comedy, a West End hit, and a parody of a famous advert and TV show.
Many thanks to John, Margaret, Joy, Michael, Jan, Brenda and Pam for the information here, and to all who held events around the counties. Congratulations . . . and onwards to 2010!
January 2009: Preparing for Fairtrade Fortnight and the Big Brew
The Big Brew is the largest Fairtrade Fortnight celebration in the Thames Valley. Sponsored nationally by Traidcraft and locally by number of organisations, including CCOW, Fair Trade in Oxfordshire, the Diocese of Oxford,the Mothers' Union and the Wessex Synod of the United Reformed Church, it consists of a variety of local events organised by churches and other groups that both promote Fair Trade and also allow outreach.
Any event can qualify as a "Big Brew" so long as
(a) Fairtrade beverages are served,
(b) the event is called a "Big Brew" and
(c) it is registered with the Big Brew organisers (download the registration forms below)
This flexibility means that churches can use the Big Brew as works best in their context, both to promote Fair Trade and to further their mission.
In 2008 over 150 churches, Mothers' Union groups, schools etc. in our area took part. One church had a "drop in" party for the village -- others have had pram services, special refreshments on a Sunday, garden parties . . . even a Mad Hatter's Tea Party!
This year, churches are encouraged to try something new and different -- both in terms of Fairtrade refreshments and events. What about Fairtrade cocoa and biscuits after evensong? Or a special party for children, with Fairtrade juice and fruit? A reading of Alexander McCall Smith's "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" books, with cups of Fairtrade Rooibos (Red Bush) tea?
To register, simply download the form at the end of this blog (scroll all the way down!) For further information about The Big Brew -- or to share your ideas for new and exciting events -- contact maranda@ccow.org.uk.
October 2008: New Products, New Developments, Fairtrade and the Recession
New Products
- Fair Trade Clergy Shirts -- A long time coming, but finally here. The shirts are not only made of Fairtrade cotton, but are manufactured in East Africa by a reputable Fair Trade manufacturer, ensuring that there is value added within a developing country as well. To see the shirts and find out more, click here.
- The 300th Fairtrade chocolate product was certified in October. To find out more about it, and to learn about escalating Fairtrade cocoa sales, click here.
New Developments
- The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation [FLO] has recently established a new system of regional minimum prices for Fairtrade cotton. The new system both raises the price per kilo by an average of 24% over the old minimum and enables a far wider range of countries to participate. To find out more, click here. Fair Trade in cotton is particularly vital, as US subsidies have rendered it almost impossible for many developing country small cotton producers to receive fair remuneration under the conventional trading system.
- IFAT, the International Fair Trade Association, is creating a new label for certified Fair Trade Organisations (such as, in the UK, Traidcraft, Tearcraft, CafeDirect or Divine Chocolate). This label would enable FTOs to show that products for which there are no FLO standards and which cannot, therefore, display the Fairtrade Mark, are, nonetheless, produced under Fair Trade conditions. The draft standards are available on the IFAT website.
- IFAT -- which is changing from the International Fair Trade Association to the World Fair Trade Organization -- has put together the FT100 . . . a list of organisations that are 100% committed to Fair Trade. Browse the list and click on websites of Fair Trade Organisations here.
Fairtrade and the Recession
- Fairtrade coffee sales are holding steady, according to a recent Reuters article. To find out more, click here.
July 2008 : A Selection of What's New and Interesting
Responding to Fair Trade Controversies
Various people have recently published responses to the February 2008 Adam Smith Institute report "Unfair Trade" and to commonly posed objections to Fair Trade.
- The Fairtrade Foundation has a brief response to "Unfair Trade" . . .
- And also a longer sheet addressing accusations that Fairtrade promotes oversupply . . . and questions about its environmental credentials . . .
- And (not new, but still interesting) a paper by Alex Nicholls arguing that Fairtrade is a market response to hostile market conditions for producers
- A much more detailed response to the Adam Smith Institute work comes from Alastair Smith of the Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society at Cardiff University, who has written "A Response to the Adam Smith Report & a New Way to Think about Measuring the Content of the Fair Trade Cup."
- Mark Hayes, principal founder and managing director of Shared Interest, and now a Senior Research Fellow in economics at Cambridge, has this year written "A comment on the economics of Fair Trade," which offers theoretical responses to the critiques that suggest that Fair Trade is "second-best" to aid, may impose losses on non-Fair Trade producers, and maintains inefficient means of production. His website on "The Economics of Fair Trade" also has a "plain English" guide that covers much of the same area.
The Challenges Facing Fair Trade
As Fair Trade grows and becomes increasingly mainstream, what are some of the challenges it faces?
- Catherine Dolan's article "High Tea," in the Spring '08 Oxford in Business looks at some of the questions surrounding the way the Fairtrade process works in Kenyan tea fields.
- Tim Davies, who works as a freelance consultant on youth participation and thinks a lot about the social power of new technologies, asks "What would Fair Trade 2.0 look like," focusing on how Fair Trade could make better connections between people buying and people producing.
- What happens to Fair Trade in an economic downturn? This article from The Yorkshire Post asks the question . . .
Supply Chains
Traidcraft, which is unique in being both company and charity, has a reputation for serious, well-grounded research into supply chain issues. Their May 2008 report, Taking the Lead: A guide to more responsible procurement practices, was written in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, and offers a model of how businesses can best think about ethical supply chains. Taking the Lead, together with earlier reports on ethical sourcing can be downloaded here.
The Doha Round
It's creeping under the radar slightly, but there is a critical period of negotiation going on -- a "mini-ministerial" in an attempt to cobble together an agreement on the Doha Round.
As ever, the best material on this is to be found on the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) website; they're doing a daily update that replaces their normal weekly bulletin. Alan Beattie, of the Financial Times, is also always worth reading in this area; click here for his article on 24 July. One of the areas hindering an agreement centres on the perennially vexed topic of bananas; read this article from Reuters to get an overview of the dispute, and this article from the Jamaica Gleaner to get one Caribbean perspective.