Fair lay?
We’ve all heard the phrase, but what does fair trade actually mean? Katy McAulay chats to a former insider for the ethical lowdown.
t's 13 years since the first
l";tit'tt'zitle-|;ilielled coffee was
launched in 198‘). 'l‘oday. there are Fairtrade labelling initiatives in 17 countries across liurope. north America and Japan while 250 producer groups from 36 countries are registered with the umbrella organisation. the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (H .0). The value of [K Fairtrade coffee sales - one of the most successful Faittrade products -- reached {18.5111 in 200]. And yet this accounted for only a 3% share of the total tnarket.
Shoptallt
Spend, spend, spend
()ne of the problems is confusion. Which companies are fair trade'.’ Can all trade ever be fair‘.’ We talked to a former fair trade organisation etnployee.
What is fair trade?
‘When F[.() accredits products. it has to learn how those products are tnade and find out exactly what systems need to be there to make it a fair trade product. Are working mothers being given time off'.’ Are the people being paid a fair wage'.’ Do children work in the factories? A lot of suppliers or importers in the North only work with companies that are registered or accredited in
some way so that the burden of
monitoring is taken off them.
‘A lot of people confuse fair trade with ethical trade and it's not the same at all. The entire reason that a fair trade organisation exists is to
help people work themselves out of
poverty: to create opportunities for producers who are economically disadvantaged. lithical trade just means that you are a regular business that wants to make a profit but in the most ethical way. You‘re not there to help other people make a living.‘
So we should only buy FLO products?
“FLO has national initiatives in 17 countries but the confusing thing is that in all of these different countries. these initiatives aren't called Fl.(). They‘re called things such as 'I‘ransfair (USA). the Fairtrade Foundation MK) and Max llavelaar (some European countries). Another international initiative is the International Federation of Alternative Trade (lFATlf
What is the difference between IFAT and FLO?
‘In fair trade. you can either accredit an organisation as a whole. or you can accredit the product. When you btty tea or coffee and you see the green. blue and black symbol. that‘s product accreditation and that’s done by FLO. The other way to register organisations is lFA'l”s way. The benefit of doing that is that you can then register an organisation that makes absoltttely anything: bowls. radiators. whatever. IFAT is constantly
struggling to get recognition for its organisations that don‘t produce goods that can be accredited by Fl.(). FM) is basically working product by product. which is going to be really slow. Fair enough. we want to get it right. but it means that other groups that don‘t have the accreditation can‘t.‘
Are people buying fair trade products over other products? ‘(‘ertain groups are but I wouldn‘t say that the Average Joe is. I would say that it‘s starting to happen with tea and coffee. You have to remember that fair trade is only big in some countries. The UK is the market leader and Europe accounts for something like 75% of all fair trade sales in the world.’
So can all trade ever be fair?
‘I don't think that fair trade has worked out an ultimate goal. Quite clearly. not all trade can be fair because not everyone can afford fair trade. If what fair trade is saying is that in order to make a bowl ethically and fairly it has to cost £4: well. not everyone can afford a £4 bowl. Fair trade works very w ell as an intermediate step: some of the businesses have now been trading for 20 years. It does work. bttt I'm not sttre what‘s next and I wonder if fair trade works precisely because it is a niche market. This is my own personal opinion. and something that I couldn‘t really find anyone to talk to tne about when I worked in fair trade. It‘s a bit of an elephant in the room problem.‘
I So you’ve made the switch to sup on fairer cuppas and munch on fair trade bananas. You’ve bought that camel. But let’s face it, man does not live on coffee and hump- backed animals alone and the next Buy Nothing Day isn’t until November. Plus, these are shopping pages, dammit. So please shop; just do it in the best way you can. Howies is an ethical company that sells T-shirts, jeans, jumpers, underwear, bags and
108 THE LIST L)"; int / .ltil l/‘Q‘tx'.
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various outdoor items made the ‘Iow impact’ way. We're not talking tie- dye, scratchy kaftans here; it’s more along the lines of reincarnated jumpers, waterproof jackets and 100% cotton T-shirts that are truly 100% cotton, rather than
the usual 73%. Howies tops have some inspired logos: ‘Work hard, canoe home’ is a personal favourite. Shop at www.howies.co.uk.
I Pitched up in the capital with nothing to. um, pitch? Those who discover a vital gap in their camping equipment won‘t have to spend the nights looking at the stars (or clouds) as Edinburgh is blessed with camping equipment shops aplenty. Two Tiso branches exist — one in the city centre on Rose Street and the other
in Leith on Commercial Street — while not to be outdone. Blacks also has two stores on Frederick Street and Elm Row. For maps. click on www.eusu.ed.ac.uk/club3/hill walk/outdoorshopSphp.
I Finally, Edinburgh residents who need to pop out for a pint of milk
during the various GB events need not fear that all shops will be boarded up. Lothian and Borders Police have advised local shops that there is no need to close, instead recommending a range of security measures. Businesses are also being warned to check on emergency procedures. Those worried about disruption to their premises during the march on 2 July should contact the 68 Enquiry Line on 0131 200 2343.