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Update about FTT

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:03:13 PDT

Here are some updated statistics about Fair Trade Towns world wide. There are now 417 Fair Trade Towns in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and North America. Among them are Brussels, Rome and Dublin. There are 35 FTT initiatives active in the United States. And Wales is working to become a Fair Trade Country. All of this information comes from the most recent newsletter of Fair Trade Towns USA.

Is Your Town a Fair Trade Town?

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:40:06 PDT

You've heard of fair trade chocolate and fair trade coffee. But what, pray tell, is a fair trade town? A fair trade town is a town with fair trade presence and Fair Trade Towns USA wants your town to be one. FTT has established the following five goals to be reached when a town seeks fair trade status:

A fair trade committee meets regularly to raise awareness of the fair trade movement and the availability of fair trade products,
Fair trade products, including products that are certified by Transfair USA or made by members of the Fair Trade Federation, are available in stores, restaurants and other places in the community,
Fair trade products are used in institutions throughout the community, such as in hospitals, churches, schools and offices,
The advocacy for fair trade receives attention from the local press and other media, and
The city counsel or other governing body passes a resolution supporting fair trade and the local advocacy movement.

FTT advocates, educates and provides resources for towns seeking to become fair trade towns, but it doesn't certify towns as fair trade. Rather, each town with the intention to become a fair trade town simply declares itself one after it has met the five goals.

FTT has carried a European idea across the Atlantic. The fair trade town movement began in Garstang, Lancashire, England, in 2001. By 2006, England was home to 209 fair trade towns and there were other fair trade towns throughout Europe. The first American town to declare itself a fair trade town was Media, Pennsylvania. Currently, Brattleboro, Vermont, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Amherst, Massachusetts are also fair trade towns. And fair trade town committees have been set up in Chicago, Boston, New York, San Fransisco and other cities.

Is your town a fair trade town? If so, that's great! Continue to support fair trade. If not, check out the FTT website for resources about how your town can become one.

The Fair Trade Federation Aims to Reduce Poverty

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:27:51 PDT

The Fair Trade Federation aims high. Their goal is nothing short of reducing global poverty. They try to accomplish that goal by expanding the market for fair trade goods.

In previous posts on this blog, I have looked at Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International and Transfair USA. Each of those organizations administers a certification process for agricultural products. But the Fair Trade Federation has no certification process. Rather, FTF is built on membership of producers, importers and retailers. FTF examines the business practices and dedication to fair trade on the part of each prospective member before granting membership status. Members of FTF may be engaged in farming and bringing agricultural commodities to market, but they may also be engaged in other types of production, such as clothing, furniture and household goods like bedding and table linens.

Of the $2.6 billion in worldwide fair trade sales in 2006, $180 million was sold by members of FTF.

And FTF has had an impact on the lives of women in developing countries by providing earning opportunities that are not otherwise available to them. Of the workers involved in conventional non-agricultural production in developing countries in 2004, only 30% were women. Compare that to the workers involved in fair trade non-agricultural production in the same places at the same time. Women accounted for 70% of the fair trade workers. One member of FTF, the Community Friendly Movement, provides earning opportunities for 375 women in 65 villages in Gujarat, India, by training them in embroidery, providing design and materials input, and permitting the women to work from home, allowing them to fulfill child care and household obligations while working.

Are you looking for fair trade products that are produced by members of FTF? Check out Sister Kate's Fair Trade Linens, where everything is fair trade.

Transfair USA Makes a $60 MM Difference

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:34:08 PDT

What difference does it make if you buy fair trade certified coffee instead of regular? In the last six years, it has made $60 million worth of difference. That is the amount of money that has gone into the pockets of coffee farmers instead of the pockets of local intermediaries in impoverished areas of Latin America, Asia and Africa as a result of the coffee certification efforts of Transfair USA. As the only third party fair trade certifier in the United States, Transfair USA audits the transactions between US companies selling fair trade commodities and global suppliers. The purpose of the audit is to ensure that a living wage is paid to the farmer selling the fair trade commodities.

Transfair USA is a member of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International. (See my post about FLO.) While it is the responsibility of Transfair USA to ensure the living wage to the farmer, it is the role of the FLO to monitor the use of the increased revenues to accomplish socioeconomic goals. In addition to a living wage for the farmer, other fair trade principles include environmentally sustainable growing conditions, fair labor conditions, direct market access, democratic and transparent cooperative organizations and community development. Evidence of the audit process is the license of Transfair USA's certification label to companies that sell commodities that meet the international fair trade standards. Currently, Transfair USA certifies coffee, tea and herbs, cocoa and chocolate, fresh fruit, flowers, sugar, rice, and vanilla. Although handicrafts and manufactured goods, such as clothing and bedding and table linens, are available on the fair trade market, Transfair USA certifies only agricultural commodites.

Look for the fair trade label when you are buying fair trade products. That ensures that your grocery dollars are supporting a farmer working to rise above poverty and enables you to put your money where your values are.

Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO)

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:26:00 PDT

How do you know that the coffee that you are buying is really fair trade coffee? Look for the label. Fair trade certification and labelling organizations insure the integrity of claims that certain products are fair trade. One such organization is Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO). FLO is a non-profit organization consisting of members that are Labelling Initiatives or Producer Networks. Member Labelling Initiatives include organizations in Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The purposes of FLO are to:

establish fair trade standards,
develop fair trade business, and
advocate for trade justice.

FLO licenses its certification mark to products which meet its fair trade standards. To ensure transparency, FLO does not do the certification examinations itself. Rather, FLO-CERT GmbH has the responsibility for the actual certification process. In North America, Transfair USA and Transfair Canada are members of FLO and each has its own mark for fair trade certification. Although fair trade handcrafts, such as fair trade bedding and table linens, are marketed in North America and Europe, the FLO Certification Mark is available only for agricultural commodities.

In 2006, fair trade certification assisted 1.4 million farm workers in 57 countries. Originally associated with coffee and chocolate, fair trade certification now includes bananas, flowers, fresh fruit, honey, juices, nuts and oilseeds, rice, spices and herbs, sports balls, sugar, tea and wine. A combination of increased awareness on the part of consumers and increased product choice contributed to an increase in fair trade sales of 42% in 2006 compared to 2005. Worldwide fair trade sales were 1.6 billion Euros. The fair trade system brings benefits to farmers and workers through the standards of a living wage and social and market improvements. The certification system brings benefits to the consumer. With the certification system, you know if the coffee you are buying is really fair trade coffee.