The future of fairer trade
The Fairtrade label is one many of us will have seen on items such as bars of chocolate or bags of coffee. But how often do we consider what it actually means?
Fairtrade was started in response to the dire struggles of Mexican coffee farmers following the collapse of world coffee prices in the late 1980s.
And now it's a global movement working to improve the lives of farmers and workers in developing countries.
For producers, Fairtrade means workers’ rights, safer working conditions and fairer pay and, for shoppers, it means high quality, ethically produced products.
There are more than 1.6 million farmers and workers in 1,411 producer organisations across the Fairtrade system that aims to ensure a set of standards are met in the production and supply of a product or ingredient. Products carrying the Fairtrade mark adhere to rigorous rules to protect workers and the environment.
There are over 6,000 Fairtrade products from coffee, tea, cocoa, wine, bananas, vegetables and spices to flowers, clothing and beauty items.
Monday marks the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, the annual campaign to raise awareness of the range of both Fairtrade principles and products.
This year's event, which runs until March 6, will be a show of solidarity with communities in low-income countries such as Honduras and Uganda who are affected daily by climate change.
As extreme weather events become increasingly frequent, fertile soil is being lost and crop diseases are spreading leaving many producers struggling to survive.
Fairtrade Standards encourage producers to protect the environment by improving soil, planting trees, conserving water and avoiding pesticides, while Fairtrade’s programmes include climate academies for farmers to share best practice.
At the same time, Fairtrade makes training available to producers so that they can use the latest agricultural methods, such as intercropping and shade-grown coffee to adapt to conditions.
Kouamé N’dri Benjamin-Francklin, a cocoa farmer, says financial support is a vital element of ensuring that farmers in low-income nations have the tools they need to tackle the increasingly destructive impacts of the climate crisis.
"If we carry on planting when we have always done before,when there is no rain and it is so hot, whatever we try to grow is destroyed. Then there is nothing to harvest. That has been happening now for years and production has massively decreased. Because of that, our incomes have massively decreased.
"What is more, the little that we can sell isn’t paid at the price it should be paid. For example, take cocoa. Cocoa farmers only earn three per cent of the price of a chocolate bar. As a person responsible for farmers, it is really sad. Being a farmer shouldn’t be a route to poverty."
Across the UK, Fairtrade groups, towns and schools, including many here in the Midlands, will be holding events in support of the campaign.
Among them is the Ludlow Fairtrade Town Group. Members will host a quiz night on Monday, February 21, at the Sitting Room, which is upstairs at the Blue Boar pub in Mill Street.
An entertaining evening is promised with a few extra surprises and goodies thrown in. The event starts at 7.30pm.
For more information, see the event's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2974861409510790
There will also be a special Fairtrade Fortnight theme at the regular Traidcraft Stall on Thursday, February 25 at Ludlow Market Square from 10am until 2pm.
Shoppers can browse and buy from the wide selection of ethically sourced products, and learn more about the impact of the climate crisis on the people who made them.
There will be Big Brew coffee morning and Traidcraft stall at St Laurence’s Church at 11am on Sunday, March 6. Proceeds from the bring-and-buy bake sale will be split between Traidcraft Exchange and the Fairtrade Foundation, supporting producers globally as they navigate the adverse effects of climate change on their livelihoods.
And on Saturday, March 12, there will be a Traidcraft Spring Fair and bake sale, from 10am until 4pm, at Ludlow Mascall Centre.
Stourbridge Fairtrade Town Group is holding an event at St Thomas’s Church Hall on Saturday March 5, from 10am until 1.30pm.
Members will be joined by other local organisations, including Friends of the Earth and the Repair Café, who focus on environmental issues, to showcase their work.
There will also be Traidcraft goodies for sale, activities for children and Fairtrade refreshments to enjoy. Local businesses,who sell Fairtrade products, will also be represented including Fair & Square, based in the Ryemarket shopping centre.
The shop which sells fair trade and cruelty-free crafts and gifts has offers and promotions planned for Fairtrade Fortnight, which conincides with its eighth anniversary.
There will be chances to enter competitions, free mystery gifts and fairtrade chocolate giveaways. Full information will be published on the shop's Instagram account @fairandsquarestourbridge.
The Fairtrade Foundation is also hosting its Choose the World You Want online festival, which will feature around 40 virtual events designed to engage, inform, and educate people about the effect of the climate crisis on farmers and food supplies.
They include the screening of a film by actor and director Adjoa Andoh, about Kenyan coffee farmer Caroline Rono and her efforts to tackle the effects of climate change.
It will be followed by a question and answer session with Adjoa and Caroline. and Fairtrade Africa's climate change expert Bernard Njoroge.
For more details about Fairtrade Fortnight, visit www.fairtrade.org.uk/fortnight
