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<p>Martin Luther King had a great many good things to say about the world. But despite such enduring power, some of his teachings still fall on deaf ears. Here’s one: “Before you finish breakfast this morning, you’ll have relied on half the world.” It is probably the first thing you will see on the official website of the Fair Trade Foundation. You could call the quote a distillation of the entire fair trade movement. Because every time you take your morning cup of coffee, tea, your sly chocolate that you’ll work off eventually, or just about anything else you consume for that matter, chances are you’ll have been enjoying the fruits of a poor or developing country’s labour. Which is fine, in theory. Except that the vast majority of Britons do not know exactly how so many major brands come by their Guatemalan deep roast coffee, or their 100% cocoa chocolate. </p> <p>In Ghana, chocolate producers have endured many years of bureaucratic torment. In the late 1980’s, the government-owned PBC, or Produce Buying Company, cheated cocoa farmers over the price of their goods, despite forcing them to sell every last bit to the company in the first place. Even when the World Bank imposed economic reforms on the country in the 1990s, farmers found themselves denied a licence on the grounds that they could not meet the government’s unrealistic requirements. Finally, in 1993, a co-operative was set up in the Ashanti region between 22 farming societies, owned and managed by farmers with the direct aim of improving conditions. The company needed a loan from a British fair trade organisation and personal property investment from several of its members just to secure the licence. The company was named Kuapa Kokoo and today boasts over 40,000 farmers. Kuopa Kokoo has struggled with a lack of funds since it’s inception and still exists in a system that cripples the producers for the benefit of the government. Other countries have even less opportunity to escape political manipulation. Mexico is responsible for a clutch of extremely popular exports in the UK – coffee, honey and chocolate among them. In America, the supply of products is not so much a steady stream as a white water river. Coffee suppliers in Mexico are amongst the most abused of all the country’s producers. </p> <p>Coffee exports in Mexico generated around $700 million in 1995, yet still the farmers, 70% of which are indigenous in origin, live in poverty. The coffee processing infrastructure, access to international markets and even production credits are all too often denied to the farmers, who are unable to take on the large corporations responsible for their plight and essentially supported by the Mexican government. It not only adds up to the continuing suffering of Mexican farmers, but a paradox in the nation itself, so large a sphere of influence in the Americas, yet with the vast majority of it’s population drowning in poverty while only a select few prosper. Oxfam have consistently been at the forefront of the campaign for fair trade. They are the first British company to launch a campaign that appeals to people directly rather than merely placing goods in stores. That campaign, currently enjoying huge success and celebrity endorsement, is Make Trade Fair, a multi faceted drive that invites participants to do everything from sign a petition to write directly to George Bush. Oxfam stepped in, according to spokesperson Amy Berry, when they realised there was a gaping hole in the market. As opposed to the usual use of the term, as business-speak for an imminent plugging of that gap with a torrent of opportunistic ventures, Oxfam recognised this relatively untouched topic as a real problem. </p> <p>Maybe it is people’s attitudes that need changing. which is where The Fair Trade Foundation comes in. It is one of the biggest players in promoting fair trade today and is a kind of umbrella charity, created by the individual charities Christian Aid, Oxfam, New Consumer, Traidcraft Exchange, CAFOD, and the World Development Movement to oversee just about all aspects of fair trade. The Foundation encourages and organises the distribution of fair trade goods across the United Kingdom. It is the axis on which all of the food producers and corporations operate their fair trade campaigns, and has created the universal fair trade mark, a recently redesigned symbol that depicts a cheering person and indicates the suppliers and consumers of fair trade products. The mark is intended to make fair trade more visible, and has succeeded. One in four of the UK population recognise the current fair trade mark since it’s induction in 2003. The Fair Trade Foundation has involved itself with all of the 17 countries now selling fair trade food and drink with the mark, and the 360 producer groups from 40 different countries producing them. </p> <p>The very first fair trade product, Green and Black’s still popular Maya Gold bar, originated from indigenous Mexican Indian farmers, was introduced in 1994, so it’s safe to assume that fair trade is more popular than many larger corporations realize. Harriet Lamb, director of the Fair Trade Foundation, is upbeat about contributions from commercial giants. “You have to start somewhere and initially we have to aim at the big companies. The more we ask for fair trade, that’s what drives them to offer it; they are governed by demand. That’s where the public come in.” Lamb is keen to single out those who have made the jump to a universal fair trade policy for praise: “Co-op and Pret a Manger are all fair trade. You can’t buy non fair trade chocolate or fruit in Co-op. We think its really good news. All trade should be fair but we’re working gradually.” Naturally, there are difficulties in promoting fair trade on such a massive scale. “The biggest difficulty is the budget – celebrity promotions, advertising, give-aways and the like just aren’t part of everyday running. There are a lot of different companies to negotiate. Health clubs, yoga meetings and leisure centres would be ideal. A lot of places say ‘We’ve signed a contract,’ but you have to have the tenacity to keep on going, go to the suppliers.” </p> |