Fair Trade and Fairtrade Paper by Mark Stein | 3 Dr

VOLUME 18 NO. 3 DECEMBER 2016 Following our successful conference in Porto in September, we present the December issue of Eursafe News. This issue focusses on the important issue of Fair Trade. Mark Stein attempts to provide an overview of the debate about the ethical im- plications of Fair Trade. His article discusses Fair Trade’s success as a Editorial social movement within the Global North, promoting consumption of products from the Global South which carry the Fairtrade logo. The paper goes on to explore the extent to which it can be seen as successful in alleviating poverty among food producers in the Global South and major concerns about how it operates in practice. The paper concludes with a table which lists and gives brief details of twelve organisations worldwide involved in promoting fair and ethical trade. It may well be appropriate to discuss in a future issue the work of some of the Non Governmental Organisations described here, which are promoting other forms of ethical trade. CONTENTS Editorial by Bernice Bovenkerk and Mark Stein | 1 Fair trade and Fairtrade Paper by Mark Stein | 3 Dr. Sahadeva Dasa: India, a World Leader in Cow Killing and Beef Export Bookreview by Mark Stein | 12 From the Executive Committee | 14 Conferences and Symposia | 15 Books | 17 1 Contact | 18 VOLUME 18 NO. 3 Shifting the focus to India there is a review of India - A World Leader In Cow Killing And Beef Export - An Italian Did It In 10 Years: What The British Could Not Do in 200 Years And The Muslims In 800 Years by Dr. Sahadeva Dasa. This is a remarkable synthesis of tradi- tional Indian religious values with modern ethical concerns. We have the usual list of forthcoming conferences and symposia and a list of recent books touching on ethical and sustainable food issues. We conclude with an update from the Executive Committee given by Franck Meijboom. If you are interested in contributing to EurSafe News in the future, either by providing an article, a book review, or a list of conferences, books, and symposia, please feel free to contact any member of the editorial board. Indeed, if anybody would like to be a guest editor and put together a special issue of the News, do let us know. We look forward to meeting you again at our next conference in beau- tiful Vienna in June 2018. Mark Stein Special issue editor Bernice Bovenkerk Editor-in-chief 2 VOLUME 18 NO. 3 Fair trade and Fairtrade A brief discussion of ethical dimensions Introduction If you go into a café in any city, the coffee, the packet of sugar and maybe even the Paper chocolate cake will likely all bear the familiar Fairtrade logo. The general message that Fairtrade provides a better deal to farmers, workers and their families in the develop- Mark Stein ing world has been well communicated. PhD student, University of This paper endeavours to discuss how well founded are the claims relating to the Salford, Manchester. superior ethical status of food bearing the Fairtrade label. [email protected] Definitions Fair Trade and Fairtrade It is first desirable to clarify the difference between Fair Trade and Fairtrade. Fair Trade Fair Trade is a general term referring to trading partnerships, which seek greater equity in international trade based on dialogue, transparency and respect. The aspiration is to offer better trading conditions to marginalized producers and workers – espe- cially in the Global South. Fairtrade The Fairtrade Mark is the registered trademark of Fairtrade International (www.fairtrade.net). It certifies that products sourced from producers in developing countries meet the social, economic and environmental standards set by Fairtrade. Fairtrade offers producers improved trade terms, aiming to help them improve their lives. It aims to offer consumers mainly in the Global North a way to reduce poverty through their shopping choices. The Fairtrade Mark is now the most widely recognised social and development label in the world. It is owned and protected by Fairtrade International on behalf of its members. Ten principles of Fair Trade WFTO prescribes ten Principles that Fair Trade Organisations must follow in their day-to-day work and carries out monitoring to ensure these principles are upheld: • Principle One: Creating Opportunities for Economically Disadvantaged Producers. • Principle Two: Transparency and Accountability. • Principle Three: Fair Trading Practices. • Principle Four: Payment of a Fair Price. • Principle Five: Ensuring no Child Labour and Forced Labour. • Principle Six: Commitment to Non Discrimination, Gender Equity and Women’s Economic Empowerment, and Freedom of Association. • Principle Seven: Ensuring Good Working Conditions. • Principle Eight: Providing Capacity Building. • Principle Nine: Promoting Fair Trade. • Principle Ten: Respect for the Environment (World Fair Trade Organisation, 2013). Fairtrade International reports shows scale of achievements Fairtrade’s success is proclaimed in quantitative terms in documents such as the international reports produced by Fairtrade International. The Fairtrade International report for 2014-15 - ‘Global Change, Local Leadership’ - highlights the benefits enjoyed by 1.5 million Fairtrade producers in 74 countries. Fairtrade products are available in more than 125 countries. 3 VOLUME 18 NO. 3 In 2014, consumers spent €5.9 billion on products carrying the Fairtrade mark, driving increased incomes for Fairtrade producers and consequently reducing their vulnerability. 2014 saw significant increases in retail sales volumes in key product categories. Fairtrade’s recent satisfaction survey stated that 93 percent of Fairtrade producers are happy with the support services they receive. This supports findings by the indepen- dent certification body, FLOCERT, which reported that producers scored Fairtrade an average of 9 out of 10 indicating positive impact for small-scale producers and workers. The satisfaction survey also highlighted producers’ need for increased support in accessing markets for their products. One way to address this is by building opportunities for producers to sell their Fairtrade products in local markets. In 2015, Brazil became the fourth producer country to launch a Fairtrade Marketing Organization and consumers there can now purchase home-grown Fairtrade coffee and honey. In 2014, the Fairtrade Access Fund loaned €11.1 million to small producer organizations, which were also supported with mentoring and financial management training. Fairtrade makes efforts to promote better working conditions, gender equality and a greener planet. Fairtrade organisations work with trade unions, other certifiers, companies and governments to achieve a living wage for workers on plantations. Fairtrade International have moreover recruited a Senior Advisor for Gender to imple- ment a strategy for achieving gender equality in Fairtrade organizations. A Fairtrade Climate Standard has now been launched; enabling farming communities to access the carbon market and become more resilient to the effects of climate change. Fairtrade’s commercial success has been dramatic. The Fairtrade mark first appeared in the UK in 1994 on just three products – Green & Black’s Maya Gold chocolate, Cafedirect medium roast coffee, and Clipper tea. 20 years on, UK shoppers can choose from over 4,500 Fairtrade products including tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, bananas, sugar, cotton, gold, cut flowers, wine and cosmetics. Does Fairtrade really help producers in the Global South? A 2014 literature review in the ‘Journal of Economic Perspectives’ concluded that ‘Many consumers value goods produced in a socially and environmentally respon- sible manner. As a result, efficiency and welfare gains are possible from credible third-party certifications, like Fair Trade, that provide consumers with information about the production process…..The existing empirical evidence, based primarily on conditional correlations, suggests that Fair Trade does achieve many of its intend- ed goals, although on a comparatively modest scale relative to the size of national economies. Fair Trade farmers do on average receive higher prices, have greater access to credit, perceive their economic environment as being more stable, and are more likely to engage in environmentally friendly farming practices’ (Dragusanu et. al., 2014, p.233). The study does however express some concerns about some aspects of Fair Trade. There is evidence that farmers who belong to Fair Trade cooperatives are not always fully aware of the details of Fair Trade and can sometimes mistrust those who run the cooperative. Another problem is that there is a trade-off between limiting certification to small-scale disadvantaged producers and allowing larger plantation-style producers to also become certified. Allowing larger producers to become certified will increase competition for the small-scale producers and may diminish the extent to which they benefit financially from Fair Trade certification. 4 VOLUME 18 NO. 3 Development of Fair Trade as a First World social movement Matthew Anderson’s recent study shows how the growth of Fairtrade sales in the UK has been promoted by a Fair Trade social movement, grounded in the work of non-governmental and alternative trade organisations. Churches have played a cru- cial role. Fair Trade campaigning has been remarkably effective. The motivation for this research has been to understand what has made Fair Trade, to use Chip and Dan Heath’s phrase, a ‘sticky idea’. It was this capacity for the idea of Fair Trade to be easily understood and remembered that has been so successful in its success to date. In their book, Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath outline six principles nearly all ‘sticky ideas’ have in common: (1) Simplicity; (2) Unexpectedness; (3) Concreteness; (4) Credibility; (5) Emotions; (6) Stories. Fair Trade’s success as a ‘sticky idea’ is perhaps most clearly demonstrated in its ability to motivate behaviour change. Working across global supply chains, the idea of Fair Trade has successfully encouraged producers to adopt new business models, retailers to stock new lines, consumers to support new products, governments to assist new programmes (An- derson, 2015, pp.

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