Fairtrade

It is Fairtrade fortnight at the moment and many people wonder what it is all about, or in these tough economic times where every penny counts how can they afford it.

What is Fairtrade?


Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.

What is the Fairtrade Foundation?


The Fairtrade Foundation is a development organisation committed to tackling poverty and injustice through trade, and the UK member of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). The Foundation works with businesses, civil society organisations and individuals to improve the position of producer organisations in the South and to help them achieve sustainable improvements for their members and their communities. Certification and product labelling (through the FAIRTRADE Mark) are the primary tools for our development goals. The backing of organisations of producers and consumers in a citizen’s movement for change is fundamental and integral to our work.



What is the FAIRTRADE Mark?


The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on UK products as a guarantee that they have been certified against internationally agreed Fairtrade standards. It shares internationally recognised Fairtrade standards with initiatives in 20 other countries, working together globally with producer networks as Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). The Mark indicates that the product has been certified to give a better deal to the producers involved – it does not act as an endorsement of an entire company’s business practices.

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/
I read last week an article about Açaí growers in Brasil being paid less than 50p for a 14 kilogram basket of the Superfruit, last year I bought some capsules of a new wonder slimming drug containing Açaí which after the months trial would have cost me £79 a month it was obvious somebody is making big money from the fruit but not the poor farmers in the Amazon region where the fruit grow, so organisations like Fairtrade are very important not only to make sure the farmers get a fair day’s pay for a fairs day’s work but will also help stop de-forestation as the fruits become so valuable.