How fair trade is fair trade?

A recent article in the Observer caused some interesting discussion when I posted it on the BAFTS Facebook page. The article, entitled "How poverty wages for tea fuel India's trade in child slavery" and the response from the Fairtrade Foundation, pose serious questions for those of us who are buying, selling and campaigning for fair trade. You'll find links to both at the bottom of the page.
Tea pickers in Assam were found to be packing the same tea in boxes which carried the FLO mark, Rainforest Alliance and the Ethical Tea Partnership logos. This tea was bound for British supermarkets as well as Tetley, Lipton and Twinings.
So far, so disconcerting - if the tea's the same why should we choose Fairtrade over Rainforest Alliance or any other label? Where it gets even more worrying is the revelation that tea pickers were paid the same whether they were picking Fairtrade tea or any other kind of tea, and that the amount (89 rupees a day) is less than 60% of the legal minimum wage in Assam. If a supermarket, or a fair trade shop, was paying its adult workers £3.70 an hour there would be an outcry, and quite rightly.
So what do we do? The Fairtrade Foundation has worked extremely hard over the last few years to extend the reach of Fairtrade products into the mainstream, in order to improve the lot of producer groups. Some, such as the Kuapa Kokoo collective in Ghana which owns a majority share in Divine chocolate, can be seen to have benefited hugely from the Fairtrade premium, and since it is a collective there are no problems with plantation owners choosing to pay poverty wages. Fairtrade started out as a movement for collectives, co-operatives and smallholders, but the culture in certain countries is resistant to collective ownership. Some crops are harder to grow collectively, but that does not mean we can just say it's OK for these tea pickers to be paid less than the legal minimum. Fairtrade is not just about banning child workers, it's about making sure adult workers, whether male or female, are paid fairly and given a chance to improve their lives. When we choose a Fairtrade product it's because we want it to be a better choice for the workers.
It's vitally important  that we never blindly trust a label, but delve a bit deeper to find out exactly what's going on, where the products come from and who benefits. If we find that a product is not what we thought it was, we need to question it, and put pressure on people who can make changes. Collectively we can make a difference.
It's vitally important that we continue to question our own commitment to fair trade, which is why BAFTS asks its members to complete a renewal form every year, where they look at what they have been doing and what they hope to do in the future.
It's vitally important, because the tea pickers' lives, and the lives of their children who could end up in slavery, depend on it. It is completely unacceptable for the fair trade label to be used as a marketing tool to sell tea bags which exploit the poverty and reduce the life choices of farm workers. It diminishes the whole idea of fair trade and risks tarring us all with the same brush.
Not all fair trade products are equal; some are clearly more equal than others.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/20/poverty-tea-pickers-india-child-slavery

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/july_2013/response_to_the_observer_article_on_tea_wages_in_india.aspx

Harrogate Home and Gift Fair -meeting some BAFTS' suppliers

A FIRST EXPERIENCE OF THE LIFE OF A FAIR TRADE SUPPLIER....
http://pinterest.com/baftsuk/harrogate-home-gift-fair-bafts-suppliers/

Having some years of retail experience in Gateway World Shop has afforded me key insights into the world of a fair trade shop, but yesterday, for the first time ever, I set foot inside a Trade Fair. Like an eager school pupil on a trip out, with ID badge pinned on, and accompanied by Joanna Pollard (Chair of BAFTS), we set off into the heat to locate existing BAFTS' suppliers and maybe find a few potential new ones. It was busy, and many people were kitted out with lists, net books, mobile phones and were discussing orders on-the-go, or whilst sipping iced beverages in the ever-increasing heat!

We managed to see most of our exhibiting suppliers but had to leave before seeing a few due to time restraints. Most of our suppliers said that this was a pretty good fair interest-wise, as opposed to last year, but remained cautiously optimistic at best. What first amazed me was the sheer cost of these stands - depending on square footage, how many panels you needed for display, lighting etc - this ran into many thousands of pounds for the four days of exhibiting. I had imagined many hundreds of pounds a day, but no more. Admittedly, these fairs seem to be THE place to get custom - good custom, new custom - and an excellent opportunity to talk up and display your wares effectively, but I can see why many suppliers cannot afford to attend more than one or two a year. Spring and Autumn Fair at the NEC Birmingham seem to be the most popular right now.

We had time to speak to Zhambala Arts, Black Yak, York Scarves, Koseli Wholesale, Earth Squared, Cool Trade Winds, Manumit, New Overseas Traders (NOT), and Kazuri. The general consensus was that times were still tough, suppliers were honing in on their best lines, some were trying a few new ones, and several saw the necessity of supplying non-fair trade businesses too to keep themselves going. Yet the determination to adhere to their own fair trade principles was as strong as ever; the humbling stories of the people behind the products were the reason they kept going, and stayed focussed. I heard of villages being helped by our suppliers to survive in times of flooding, of new lines being tried out so that weavers who could not afford a hand loom could still supply a craft item; and of the underlying passion to yet lift people out of poverty, despite some tough business decisions having to be made.

I started to get a much clearer and deeper picture of what working with producers means: giving basic training and marketing advice to meet Western standards; helping them learn to select quality materials; teaching them the necessary skills - to appreciate the need for consistency of approach and product; to meet deadlines, to turn samples over on time, to be reliable, and all that often against a backdrop of living in meagre conditions. I realised that the supplier's life is an endless round of travelling for weeks abroad to see producers, check on quality control and order progression, iron out whatever difficulties are encountered, then return to deadlines on new catalogues, shipping out orders, getting collections ready and spending hours displaying them for one of the many Trade Fairs - if indeed money allows. I realised what a huge amount of work goes on just keeping the production lines going in developing countries, let alone achieving consistently good quality products on time for seasonal deadlines which Western markets will want to consume.

The Pinterest link shows some images taken of the suppliers and products. There are more on Facebook and Twitter too. I hope that yesterday's trip will now enable me to better understand the needs of more of our Members and address those more effectively.

Tellin' Stories: Fair Trade and Fairtrade

First - the confession: My name's Joanna and I'm a Twitter addict. If you're doing it right, it often feels like you're sitting quietly in a pub (or Fairtrade coffee shop!) listening to the conversations of the most erudite, witty and interesting people in the country. Anyway, I read a Tweet the other day which really set me thinking. This Tweet, from Indica (941 Twitter followers), a fair trade shop in Glasgow (although not yet a BAFTS member) reads:

Buying #fairtrade at a supermarket is kind of missing the point - support an #indieretail outlet & buy #organic and #fairtrade together.

A lot of interesting ideas are packed into these 140 characters. Firstly, supermarkets do sell more Fairtrade goods than any other type of retailer. Farmers in the developing world are receiving £53 million a year from the Fairtrade premium and there's a strong argument that without the likes of Sainsbury's (170,155 followers), the Co-op, Cadbury's, Nestle and Starbucks the farmers who produce Fairtrade certifed crops such as bananas, coffee and cocoa beans, sugar cane and tea leaves would still be stuck in absolute poverty.  Fair trade pioneers such as Cafedirect and Divine (15,692 followers)do an amazing job but we need to face the fact that most people in the UK do most of their shopping in supermarkets, and the only way Fairtrade is able to make the huge difference it does, is by giving customers the opportunity to buy FLO marked goods in supermarkets.
There is a massive recognition of the FLO mark - 78% of the UK population recognise it, and this is largely down to its presence within mainstream retail alongside the efforts of the Fairtrade Foundation (66,278 followers) and Fairtrade groups across the country. Not to mention the inspiration for the headline of this article, Charlatans singer Tim Burgess (62,276 Twitter followers) whose Tim Peaks coffee is one of the newest Fairtrade brands on the market. 
However, if you scrutinise the label on a FLO marked biscuit or cake, you will probably find it was made in Europe, often in the UK.  The 78% of customers who recognise and seek out goods with the FLO mark don't always realise that the item they have in their hand does not actually originate in the developing world. The raw ingredients were grown by farmers whose lives are being changed by Fairtrade, and that's fantastic, but how can fair trade help change the life of someone who isn't a farmer?

A recent survey conducted on behalf of the Fairtrade Foundation found that:
• More than a third (35%) of shoppers say they have specifically chosen to buy Fairtrade in recent weeks (compared with 9% who said this in 2006)

• 37% would buy more Fairtrade if they knew where the money is spent or the difference it makes to developing nations

• 18% would buy more if they knew more about how standards are monitored.

This tells us that customers are interested in knowing more about where and how their shopping was produced, and why what they buy matters to the people who made it. 
Shopping for fair trade crafts, clothing and giftware like the products you find in fair trade shops gives you the chance to own something which was entirely created by artisans in the developing world. When you hold a fairly traded necklace, bowl or keyring in your hand, you know that this object was crafted in the hands of a talented worker in the developing world. BAFTS and WFTO members who import from the developing world help nurture and develop traditional skills in modern ways, helping their producer groups to build their businesses, training new staff and reacting to customers' needs. Many fair trade importers work with people with disadvantages within their own societies - women, people with disabilities, victims of trafficking etc. 
As a market trader I speak to people at all points on the fair trade recognition scale - from avowed converts to skeptics to those who have never even heard of it.  I have found that whatever their understanding of fair trade, my customers love to hear the stories behind the products I sell. Supermarkets can't do this. Independent retailers are a vital cog in the wheel of fair trade, because they can tell the producers' stories. From the hands of the worker to the hands of the shopper, each fair trade product tells a different story, but all the stories have one thing in common: lives are changed by fair trade. What we buy matters, and shops and suppliers can work together to get that message across.
Joanna Pollard (86 followers)
BAFTS Chair

"BIG IF" Rally in London 8th June from guest-blogger Nina Carter-Brown (Fair Grounds)

On 8^th June I went down to London with a group of campaigners from Bradford to join over 40,000 people from around the country wanting to give a clear message to the G8 summit leaders that they must take action on the global issues of tax-dodging, land-grabbing and hunger. I got involved with the ‘enough food for everyone IF’ campaign because I don’t want to live in a world where 1 in 8 people go to bed hungry every night and a child dies from hunger every 15 seconds. The IF campaign is supported by over 200 organisations and the rally had been organised by some of the UK’s biggest NGOs and charities and brought people together in Hyde Park to hear from a variety of speakers and musicians from across the world on the campaign and put pressure on David Cameron and the other G8 leaders who were meeting the following week in Northern Ireland.

We arrived in time to join the march from Westminster to Hyde Park where the rally was taking place and it was good to be able to talk to some people we passed about why we were there. In Hyde Park there were campaign stalls and a big stage where everyone gathered in the sunshine to hear from the speakers and musicians. One of the highlights for me was hearing Satish Kumar speak. An Indian activist who speaks passionately from the soul about growing food and living with the earth in a way that means no one would go hungry. He was inspiring and I recommend listening to him on youtube or reading articles he has written. I very much enjoyed listening to Angelique Kidjo, a singer from Benin with an amazing voice and uplifting songs. There were also 2 young people from Tanzania who spoke of their personal experience of hunger and their meeting with David Cameron that afternoon, and I hope he listened well to them.

I have now been part of 4 G8 demos, 3 in the UK and 1 in Germany and as well as being part of the ‘drop the debt’ ‘make poverty history’ and ‘IF’ campaigns, I have also been involved in some nonviolent demonstrations around ‘Stop the G8.’ For me I feel it is important to be part of both. I get inspired and energised from being with thousands of others from around the UK and world who see the injustices and inequality in the world and so we gather together as a loud collective voice with a message to the G8 world leaders that they must work for change and use the power they have globally to make a difference to the lives of the millions living in poverty. However, at the same time if I’m honest I find it hard to believe that the leaders of the G8 countries – UK, USA, Russia, Japan, Italy, Germany, France and Canada – hold the best interests of the world’s poorest people at the heart of all they do and all the decisions they make, and because of that I can’t see the G8 being a significant force for positive change in the future, and this is the reason I believe ultimately it should be stopped. As I walked away from Hyde Park the question in my mind was ‘I wonder how much has been spent on food at the G8 summit?’

But this doesn’t mean that I will give up on campaigning and adding my voice along with thousands of others as we hope that something genuinely life-giving will come out of these meetings, because it is so much better than doing nothing and we can see this year’s G8 summit resulted in some positive statements being made, such as G8 leaders pledging an extra $4.1billion to help tackle malnutrition which could save the lives of almost 2million children. World leaders agreeing to set up pilot partnerships with developing countries to make buying, selling and owning land fairer and David Cameron announcing that all UK-affiliated tax havens will now have to share information about the companies using them, and G8 leadersagreeing that information from all companies should now be open to scrutiny by tax authorities in developing countries.

It is important to make sure that these promises of action are followed through quickly and effectively because they will make a real difference to millions of people who are living and dying in poverty, and as long as the G8 summits happen we must continue to put pressure on David Cameron and the other leaders to ensure they are using the opportunity to do all they can to end hunger and suffering in the world.

Starting out with BAFTS in a new role

It's three and a half months since I joined BAFTS in the newly-created post of part-time Marketing and Membership Coordinator. Although I have had seven years' background as Chair of Durham City Fair Trade Partnership (Durham City has held Fairtrade City Status since May 1997) this work was primarily with local Councils, retailers, schools, Durham University, holding meetings and events, and revolved primarily around products with the FAIRTRADE Mark, or FLO Mark as we at BAFTS call it!

So, it's easy at that point to think you know pretty much all there is to know about Fairtrade (one word), although I had done work in Gateway World Shop, Durham (BAFTS' shop member) for many years, and had some understanding of BAFTS as a member organisation, and that we had to have a minimum of 70% fairly-traded goods in the shop, with the rest comprising organic foods or items, recycled goods, and some local products. I had also completed two County Durham Fair Trade Directories for the Durham Co-operative Membership Committee under contract, and helped Durham County Council with theirs a few years' earlier, so I knew that BAFTS was a "seal of approval" if you like for fair-trade outlets stocking items well beyond commodities certified with the FLO-Mark, such as paper, jewellery, kitchenware, bags, clothes, accessories, and craft items. At the time of me joining, BAFTS had just changed its name to include Suppliers, so I thought I was pretty much up-to-date.

Yet my role is multi-faceted, and involves anything and everything from ringing members to introduce myself, to updating Facebook and Twitter, sending out Newsletters and emails to the whole membership, looking out for potential new members, and trying to address the needs and concerns of the existing membership-base. It really helped being able to attend the AGM and Conference in Burntisland, as names which had been a blur on a Google Document eight weeks before started to make sense as the people behind them made themselves known to me. This was the very first time I had met the Board members face-to-face as well, although we had skyped so often that it felt quite easy to fit alongside them.

I think things really gelled there -meeting shop members, seeing suppliers exhibiting, getting to grips with the Resolutions, starting to see how these impacted our members, hearing concerns about WFTO proposals and what that meant for BAFTS. Whilst I had some knowledge of retail, I was keen to better understand the suppliers' businesses, how they operated and made their producer contacts. So I am relishing going to Harrogate Home and Gift Fayre next week to do exactly that, so that as I gain a wider knowledge of our membership, I can better understand all your situations, and hopefully provide solutions for your problems.