What do we think when we see the Fairtrade mark? We think honesty, trustworthiness and sustainability. The independent certification system is important because it gives producers and farmers the chance to make a decent profit. This then enables them to remove themselves up from the poverty level.
Fairtrade aims by using the minimum price system to ensure that farmers can survive in their Fairtrade farming co-operatives. The other method is the premium payment where extra money is given to Fairtrade co-operatives so that they can develop different projects of their choice like school, toilets etc.
Tea farms in Tamil Nadu in India have received long – term benefits from the premium payment. Over the past 25 years as Fairtrade co-operatives, they have a school, improved education, bursary funds and scholarships. Women who have had little education now have children who are graduating from university.
It would have been unthinkable without Fairtrade in their lives. Because of this vital support this social and economic sustainability has led to a sort of environmental stability. Due to Fairtrade standards, farmers can look towards the health of their soil. Our Fairtrade farmers try not to use chemical pesticides and try to manage organic methods.
In order to continue with organic farming they have to have a safety net and they cannot maintain this kind of farming if they suffer from severe poverty. Fairtrade helps them to improve their production methods.
We see the extinction rebellion demonstrations and the huge efforts from Greta Thunberg. These activists are important for Fairtrade as the Fairtrade farmers have been climate change activists for years. Their farming is environmentally friendly and we could learn a great deal from their methods.
An example of this was when I was travelling around the States and ended up in the magnificent Yosemite National Park in California. A Park Ranger told me that they could not understand why the huge sequoia trees did not develop and re-forest. So they looked back in the archives to old parchments and the Native Americans’ way of life and languages.
All this research was essential because by learning from the Native Americans they realised that the trees had to have burning and fire and then and only then did the new seeds germinate. They eventually saw new growth taking place among the giant sequoias.
Fairtrade farmers respect the earth and many local farmers also have learned to change their methods. A huge step to help keep back climate change and save the planet. Every little step you make here is a good step and it matters. It was interesting in lockdown that the pollution levels dropped massively which proved that cars are a pollutant.
However, even for Fairtrade farmers there are new challenges relating to climate change. The seasons are becoming less predictable so it is difficult to know when the rains are coming. Extreme events may batter their crops and flash floods are becoming more frequent.
Another problem that is emerging for Fairtrade farmers is Brexit. The biggest problem producers face is the lack of market access. They can only earn from what they sell and if they do not manage to see their products they will not receive Fairtrade accreditation and they will fall deeper down into abject poverty.
If tariffs and quotas are imposed, it will dramatically harm the quality of life for farmers who rely on selling their products in the UK. Brexit policy makers must realise that it is not just about what is the best for the UK.
People often want to support Fairtrade but they are limited by what is available and visible to them when they go shopping. Supermarkets , for example, do not promote Fairtrade products on their shelves although they sell them. Also retail pricing is very detached from the farmer. Chocolate is a very good example of this. In the UK, chocolate is a 4 billion pound industry though a lot of cocoa farmers in West Africa live below the poverty line.
It is absolutely vital to remember that non- Fairtrade items are sold dirt cheap because the farmers pay the price of suffering in poverty.
This is why making people aware of Fairtrade is so essential. We understand that with the corona virus and lockdown that thousands have lost their jobs so we, too, are living in our version of poverty which, although is hard for us, it is nothing compared to the poverty of the farmers in the developing world.
They can have seven families living in one very basic house. Women can still be giving birth on the ground outside. We do not want our producers to continue lives of exploitation, starvation, instability etc.
It is hard in our changing world to think about other people when we are suffering but if we do not think about others who live in poverty far away from us, how can we expect other people to care about us? We live in a world now which is going back to the Victorian era where we judge people as the deserving and undeserving poor.
We should like to live in a world where people just care about the next person, whether it is the person next door or whether it is the poor farmer growing cocoa in Africa so that we can gorge on chocolate.
We are in the process of fighting Nestle as they want to withdraw KitKat from Fairtrade so they can pay less money. Nestle is prepared to force Fairtrade farmers to suffer for the sake of profit.
Fairtrade continues to have an impact for the good and changing lives. Help us to continue by asking in your supermarket where the Fairtrade coffee, bananas, chocolate etc. are. We fight for farmers in the developing world and we support local farmers by using local produce.
Farming whether local or distant is a hard life and we must support their hard work. Fairtrade is one way of doing this. There is enough variety to fit any student budget and at the same time you are supporting sustainably ethically sourced produce. This is the way forward to help save the planet.
Really well researched article explaining the need for more awareness about Fairtrade principles and policies!!