In our two part special, we asked our friends at Fairtrade UK to answer some of your questions…
..and this is what they said.
Click on the questions below to skip straight to their answers:
What is your response to suggestions that Fairtrade is "not so fair" - making Fairtrade farmers dependent on the premiums from a relatively small western market.
We’ve done a lot of research into the impact of Fairtrade – working with institutions like University of Greenwich Natural Resources Institute, and the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University to conduct independent assessments. These studies are really helpful in showing what is working and what needs to be changed or improved.
Groups that have been able to sell a reasonable amount on Fairtrade terms have been able to make some really good progress in tackling some of the problems they face – whether that’s community services like schools, health centres, clean water, or business improvements like getting more expert farming advice, or buying new equipment to improve product quality. In many cases, farmers groups have been able to get matched funding for their projects, combining Fairtrade premiums with government or other business funding.
One issue that producer groups do face is what happens if their sales on Fairtrade terms fall – so for example, a lot of companies have switched their sourcing from West African cotton to Indian cotton, partly because it is easier to process. We’re looking at that problem and trying to find solutions, working with the businesses and the producers. But ultimately we need people to keep asking for Fairtrade products, and demanding that companies do more to ensure their business is fighting poverty too.
The future doesn’t just lie in Western markets like the UK. We’re working to build new markets – both in the North, in places like Korea or Poland, and in the South. There’s now a Fairtrade label in South Africa, and Kenya has its first Fairtrade products. In the future we’re hoping to see more South-South trade open up – in Brazil, India, East Africa and the Caribbean.
Fairtrade is sometimes described as good idea but its impact is far too small to fight poverty – is it more than just a few extra pennies?
There’s a great African proverb that says “If you ever think you’re too small to make a difference, you’ve clearly never spent a night in a room with a mosquito.” My view is that we shouldn’t underestimate the small stuff - if a few individuals hadn’t gone out to fight for the first Fairtrade products all those years ago, we’d never be where we are today. And what might seem like a very small thing to us, can be quite a big thing for people on the other end of a supply chain.
A good example for me was last year in Ghana last year when I visited a group of women in the Akoma Cooperative – they produce shea butter. It’s quite a feat – it takes several days and about 10 different processes to get from the shea nut on the tree to the final butter but by working together, the women had turned it from a solitary into a social process. They had just received their Fairtrade premium payment for their first sales – it wasn’t much, less than $1000 in total I think. But with that money they had enrolled every woman in the cooperative into a health insurance programme – this is a massive change as often families don’t visit the clinic because they know they can’t afford the medical costs. On top of the health insurance, they had bulk bought materials to make a school uniform for one child in the family of every member, so that they could start the new school year.
 These are small but meaningful changes we make by choosing Fairtrade products. But you are right that we need to tackle the bigger issues – the causes of poverty. Fairtrade isn’t just about shopping – it’s also about campaigning for wider change in the way trade is done. That’s why for the last year we’ve been campaigning about the shocking US and European cotton subsidies which are keeping West African cotton producers poor and Traidcraft and the Fairtrade Foundation are launching a campaign action to Ed Davey, the Trade Minister on the importance of keeping up promises on trade made as part of the Doha round.
Tell us about some of the exciting things that Fairtrade has in store for 2012?
We’re going to kick of a whole Year of Fairtrade in 2012 - getting people in the UK to take 1.5 million steps for Fairtrade – that’s one for every farmer and worker currently involved in the Fairtrade system. We’ve made huge progress, but we’ve worked out that still the average household only spends about £1 per week on Fairtrade products – not even the cost of a cup of coffee. If we can get people just to double that to £2 on average, we could double the impact we’re having for farmers and workers.
It can be a small step, like switching one more thing you buy to Fairtrade – so if you already buy Fairtrade bananas, but not tea, then buy tea. Or rice. Or nuts. It can be a big step – like getting everyone in your workplace or college to do something for Fairtrade. Or organising an event. Or writing to your MP on an issue of trade justice. We’re going to have loads of suggestions all through the year and The Take A Step Campaign is kicking off with Fairtrade Fortnight, 27 February – 11 March.
We’re also going to be doing more for World Fair Trade Day on 12 May, and join with people all around the world in  having a Big Fairtrade Breakfast. There’ll be ideas for taking steps for Fairtrade at summer fetes and festivals too. And of course, there’s London 2012 Games which has made a commitment that all coffee, tea, sugar and bananas should be Fairtrade – we want to make sure all the companies deliver on that.
Another exciting thing is that we hope 2012 will be the year we see the first Fairtrade seafood – we’ve been working on the global standards for some time now. For example, a lot of the shrimp we buy comes from Asia or Latin America, and whilst there are some eco-standards out there, there isn’t one that is specifically supporting small scale fisheries, ensuring that there are sustainable fishing practices and fair trading relationships involved.
Want more? For up to date information on Fairtrade campaigns, news and actions for making a difference click here. |
Mostly when we’re shopping we have no idea whether the people who produced the bananas, the cotton or coffee were paid a fair price. Fairtrade is one way we can make a positive choice, choosing a product where there is an independent process working to improve what farmers and workers get, and to support them in using trade to build a better future. You know there is an agreed pricing structure and that there are Fairtrade premiums for anything that carries the label. You know that there is a charity out there checking and auditing and if we find problems, we are committed to taking action and finding solutions too.
