Table of Contents Alta Gracia: Showing the World 5 What is Possible by Peter Dreier 17 ...... The Metamorphosis of 7 by Rudi Dalvai

...... Credit Breathes Life into Fair Trade 11 9 9 by Meg Wilcox ...... Co-operatives: The Heart and Soul of 11 the Fair Trade Movement by Phyllis Robinson 13 ...... Nnobua: How Cooperation Makes 13 Chocolate Something Everyone 5 Can Cherish By Erin Gorman () ...... 7 Making Fair and Sustainable Palm oil 15 in Ghana 10 by Rob Hardy, Safi anu Moro and Gero Leson 15 ...... Fair Trade at the Crossroads - Lessons 17 from the Organic Movement by Michael Sligh Letter from the Director Mission: Fair World Project (FWP) promotes organic and fair trade practices This issue’s cover featuring FWP’s Just Economy map shows the important and transparent third-party certifi cation of producers, groups striving to create a just economy: small scale artisan and farmer manufacturers and products, both here and abroad. Through groups in the developing world seeking fairness in trade; workers in consumer education and advocacy, FWP supports dedicated fair the global apparel industry organizing for better wages and working trade producers and brands and insists on integrity in use of the conditions; and farmers and agricultural workers in the North and South seeking economic fairness at home. All social movements are unique, with term “fair trade” in certifi cation, labeling and marketing. specifi c goals and strategies, each contributing to a world of justice and Why FWP Exists: equity. A key challenge to the movement for economic fairness and justice will be to develop collaborative strategies to ensure that small producers and  Conscious consumers armed with informed purchasing power agricultural workers’ have market solidarity opportunities that are mutually can create positive change and promote economic justice, supportive and not counter productive. sustainable development and meaningful exchange between global South and North In this issue, Rudi Dalvai, WFTO’s President, discusses in his article “Metamorphosis of the Fair Trade Movement” how fair trade has changed from a small producer  The Organic movement, with the advent of federal driven movement to a consumer driven market. This metamorphosis of the fair regulations, has lost sight of the social criteria of fair prices, trade movement is in danger of putting small producers at a disadvantage if we do wages and working conditions. not move forward with careful intention. Fair trade was created by and for small producers in the Global South in order to build a more just system of trade and  Family farmers and farmworkers in the developing world help to eliminate poverty in the poorest communities in the world. Fair trade was are often impoverished by unfair volatile prices, wages and envisioned as an important way to combat corporate globalization that prioritizes working conditions. profi ts over people. Fair trade supports not only the survival of small rural farming communities in the Global  North American and European family farmers and farmworkers South, but is an important vehicle for educating and activating consumers to take action beyond the checkout face similar challenges, and thus we need to bring fair trade stand. Small farmers are more than romantic visions of a rural utopia; small farmers are the backbone of the criteria home with “Domestic Fair Trade.” global food supply, guardians of biodiversity and key players in advancing democratic communities.  Existing certifi ers and membership organizations vary in their As we know, there are deplorable and exploitative working conditions for workers in every sector and step criteria and philosophy for the qualifi cation of products and of the food chain. FWP supports eff orts and campaigns that advocate for agricultural workers at home and brands for designation as “fair trade.” FWP will work to keep abroad. FWP is working with labor unions, farmworker associations and the Domestic Fair Trade Association to the term “fair trade” from being abused and diluted. explore and develop strategies to best support workers. FWP is also launching a campaign this fall to promote Alta Gracia, a living wage, union apparel company, on college campuses across the country.  FWP cuts through politics in the world of fair trade in order to catalyze the rapid expansion of the universe of fair trade Farmers, artisans, consumers and other stakeholders are in danger of becoming confused as the fair trade products, in particular promoting certifi cation to rigorous movement evolves through its growing pains. Consumers especially are in need of deeper education standards that give consideration to the local context of a regarding the true aims and , and the transformational impacts that fair trade can project. engender. Too often, consumers are simply told to just “Look for the Label” without going further beyond passive consumption. Civil society needs to have an informed robust discussion about the complexities of fair The Fair Trade Movement: trade, trade policy reform and market power dynamics in order to truly shift to a just global economy. The fair trade movement that FWP is part of shares a vision of a world To a day when all trade is fair, in which justice and sustainable development are at the heart of trade structures and practices, both at home and abroad, so that Dana Geffner everyone through their work can maintain a decent and dignifi ed Dana Geff ner livelihood. Executive Director ...... For more Information on Fair World Project Distribute Fair World Project’s For A Better World please visit www.fairworldproject.org “For a Better World” is a free semi-annual publication that features articles from a variety Fair World Project Dana Geff ner of perspectives, including farmers, farm workers, consumers and committed fair trade PO Box 42322 Executive Director brands. FWP helps consumers decipher fair trade certifi cation schemes and is an excellent Portland, OR 97242 [email protected] educational resource. Distribute “For a Better World” for free at your business or organization. 800-631-9980 Ryan Zinn Order now by visiting our website at: www.fairworldproject.org [email protected] ...... Campaign Director [email protected] Letter to the Editor Cover Illustration By Tell Us What You Think. We would like to hear your thoughts. Michael Aubert Sue Kastensen Send letters to: Fair World Project - PO Box 42322, Portland, OR 97242 President of Cosmic Egg Project and Creative Advisor or email comments to [email protected]. Include your full name, address, Studios [email protected] daytime phone and email. The editorial team may shorten and edit correspondence for clarity.

3 Fair World Project | Fall 2012 News in Brief For more FWP News: www.fairworldproject.org/newsroundup

Equal Exchange Challenges FWP World Fair Trade Day Sweepstakes Winner Announced! Green Mountain on the World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) 2012 was a rousing success. FWP, with dedicated fair trade brands Alaffi a, , Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Guayaki, Future of Fair Trade , and Maggie’s Organics, sponsored over 600 WFTD events. In a rare business-to-business plea Equal In collaboration with Intrepid Travel, FWP hosted a fair trade vacation Exchange released an open letter to Larry sweepstakes, with over 7500 applicants. Anne C. from New Jersey won the Blanford, the CEO of fellow New England sweepstakes and will be traveling to Sri Lanka this November with her husband . specialty coff ee company, Green Mountain Congratulations Anne! Coff ee Roasters (GMCR) in the form of a full-page color ad in the Burlington Free Press (Vermont), encouraging the multi-billion dollar brand to withdraw its support from the controversial certifi cation agency, Fair Trade USA (FTUSA). FWP and United Students for Fair Trade (USFT) Join Forces USFT has joined FWP as a special campaign to catalyze university students for GMCR, based in Waterbury, VT, was itself an ‘early adopter’ and has been fair trade and social justice. FWP and USFT have off ering Fair Trade coff ee for 14 years. To their considerable credit GMCR collaborated over the course of the past year, recently became the world’s largest purveyor of Fair Trade Certifi ed™ coff ee, promoting Alta Gracia clothing through university handling more than 26,000,000 pounds of Fair Trade coff ee annually. They campaigns, as well as fair trade outreach and have also donated generously to support various economic development education eff orts on college campuses. Looking eff orts in coff ee growing communities. However, while acknowledging these forward, FWP and USFT will jointly advocate for accomplishments, in the ad, Equal Exchange challenges GMCR to “open your small farmers, workers and artisans, as well as in eyes…to the controversy raging…” and “leave Fair Trade USA” in light of recent favor of fair trade policies and economic justice. unilateral changes enacted by the agency. “Students have played a critical role in the North Read Equal Exchange’s press release here: www.fairworldproject.org/news/single/516 American Fair Trade movement over the course of the last decade, advancing the cause of small farmers, workers and (FLO) Establishes Organization artisans, while holding corporations accountable. Partnering with FWP will further USFT’s mission, bringing fair trade to more students in the and campuses,” said USFT National Coordinator, Maria Louzon. In the wake of the FLO/Fair Trade USA split last year, FLO Read more: www.fairworldproject.org/news/single/522 has established an US office to promote fair trade and certify FLO fair trade products in the United States. To Cincinnati Food Hub: A Model for date, several high profile fair trade companies, like Divine Chocolate and Wholesome Sweetners, have committed Union and Collaboration to the FLO system. Consumers can expect to see the FLO Many communities in the United States today symbol on fair trade products on shelves this fall. face severe unemployment and poor access to healthy, local food. An innovative approach to addressing sustainable green jobs and local food North American Fair Trade Council Open Letter to FTUSA systems is being launched in Cincinnati by the In a June 15th letter, dozens of fair trade producer organizations, traders and United Steel Workers Union, United Food and organizations called upon Fair Trade USA to establish an Commercial Workers, Mondragon cooperative inclusive and transparent governance structure and to organizations from Spain, the Center for Community Change, with local stop plans to expand fair trade certifi cation to coff ee activists and academics, who are joining forces to establish a food hub in plantations. Since June 15th, over 250 organizations Cincinnati, Ohio. According to the USDA, a food hub is “a centrally located and individuals have signed on to the open letter to facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, FTUSA. storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally Read the complete letter here: produced food.” This novel approach prioritizes both fair work conditions www.fairworldproject.org/news/single/542 with healthy and sustainable food systems. Learn more: www.fairworldproject.org/news/single/524

www.fairworldproject.org 4 Contributing Writer Consumers should support workers’ own voices and aspirations for fairness rather than trusting Peter Dreier companies to do so. This is why USAS has always stood beside democratic local unions.”

Paralleled by pressure from USAS, WRC’s investiga- Alta Gracia: Showing the World tions have forced many brands to improve condi- tions at some factories making clothing for the col- lege market. USAS has achieved unprecedented What is Possible victories with two of the largest companies -- Rus- sell and Nike in 2009 and 2010 by pressuring their Human Rights Activists Support -Free Factory schools – and even retailers - to cut contracts with brands. This student-led boycott cost the corpora- racelis “Kuky” Upia, a 39-year-old factory Alta Gracia is the fi rst apparel company in the tions millions in sales until they came into compli- worker in the Dominican Republic, is par- college market to work closely with unionized ance with the campus’ codes of conduct. Aticipating in an experiment that, if success- employees and pay them a living wage. It is an ful, could help end as a staple of the unusual collaboration between student, labor, This hard-won progress is promising. But it has not global economy. and human rights activists and Knights Apparel, been easy. “This is an industry obsessed with pen- the nation’s leading producer of college clothing, nies,” says Scott Nova, WRC’s executive director. A single mother of four, Upia has been sewing in which beats Nike and Adidas in dominating the $4 “We’ve had tremendous resistance from the big factories since she was 15. For years she earned billion collegiate market. labels.” less than $50 a week. Some employers simply re- fused to pay her. At one point she was so deeply The Worker Rights Consortium, a global network USAS’s victories in their campaigns against Russell in debt, the local market stopped extending her of in-country fi eld representatives, monitors facto- and Nike demonstrated that college students were credit. ry conditions in response to workers’ complaints Today Upia sews T-shirts for $3.02 an hour, a huge and publishes its reports leap in income and nearly three times the coun- online. Unlike other or- try’s minimum wage. She has paid off her loans ganizations that claim to and can shop again at the grocery store. She has certify and monitor fac- purchased a refrigerator, plans to add rooms to her tory conditions overseas, home to rent out for additional income and has the WRC refuses to accept paid for her son Nisael’s long-postponed dental funding from any compa- work. Her son Yacer is studying accounting at the ny – including Alta Gracia. university. This avoids the confl ict- of-interest that can lead Upia was among the fi rst workers hired by Alta other organizations to fa- Gracia, an apparel company named after the town vor management (who of- where she has lived all her life and where the fac- ten pay the certifi er fees) tory is based. Alta Gracia’s T-shirts and sweatshirts over workers. WRC views are sold mainly at US colleges and universities at its role as holding compa- about the same prices as clothing made by Nike, nies accountable by shin- Russell and other brands. ing the light of publicity on them. It operates on PhoPhoto Credit: John Wetzel, Photographer, Student at Notre Dame Beginning in the mid-1990s, students on American the basis that workers are campuses used various forms of protest to pres- the best source of infor- Union leader Lucrecia sews Alta Gracia tees for Notre Dame, which sourced their main sure universities to adopt “codes of conduct” as a mation about the day-in alumni and school pride tee from Alta Gracia this year. condition of allowing companies the rights to use day-out realities of their their names, mascots and logos. But implementing workplaces. WRC works closely with a network of ready to throw their weight behind a living-wage these standards proved to be extremely human rights groups around the world union-made option in their purchases as well diffi cult. College-bound goods are who get information about working as their actions. If students would fi ght against just a small fraction of the prod- conditions directly from employ- brands that abused workers’ rights, wouldn’t they ucts made by the thousands of ees. This is much preferable to rally behind brands that respected them? That’s apparel factories around the having corporate accounting how the idea for the Alta Gracia brand started. world. Monitoring all these “Fairness is not fi rms and other business- workplaces is impossible. oriented consultants para- Two key players were Joe Bozich, the CEO of a marketing label chute into countries to ex- Knights Apparel, and Donnie Hodge, the company For years United Students amine clothing factories, president. “We started thinking that we wanted Against Sweatshops (USAS) you can buy, slap often after alerting man- to do something more important with our busi- refused to support com- agement that they are on ness than worry just about winning market share,” panies claiming to make on a product, and their way. Bozich explained. “sweatshop-free” clothing, because they couldn’t be call it good” “Fairness is not a marketing Student activists and labor experts began conver- sure the companies would label you can buy, slap on a sations with Knights executives about whether keep their commitment. To- product, and call it good,” ex- the economics of clothing production allowed for day, however, USAS, as well plained Eliza Kopetchne, a sopho- “the perfect factory,” one that could produce well- as the Worker Rights Consortium more at Northeastern University and made items in a safe workplace and pay workers (WRC), the independent labor rights an activist with the USAS affi liate on her decent wages and benefi ts. Worker abuse surfaces watchdog founded in 2000 to help enforce the campus. Kopetchne visited the Alta Gracia fac- on factory fl oors, but it is rooted in the dynamics “codes of conduct,” have embraced Alta Gracia as tory in January with a delegation led by Fair World of the global apparel industry, in which so-called a model that proves socially responsible clothing Project. “Real fairness is a living, breathing power- manufacturers -- in reality, design and marketing production is not only possible; it’s profi table. dynamic -- an ongoing eff ort that is played out ev- fi rms -- outsource the fabrication of clothing to ery day in the treatment of workers in a workplace. independent contractors worldwide. In this labor-

5 Fair World Project | Fall 2012 intensive industry where capital requirements are face these challenges, Sitralpro, Alta Gracia’s in- minimal, it is relatively easy to open a clothing fac- dependent union, serves as one more democratic Attention University Students tory. This has led to a global race to the bottom: check-and-balance on management. During its there is always someplace, somewhere, clothing formation, the vote took place in front of the fac- and Community Activists! can be made still more cheaply. Today more than tory with no opposition from management. In Want to bring Alta Gracia to your 90 percent of the clothing in US retail stores is im- fact, the company and the union jointly sponsor ported. employee workshops, on company time, about university or organization? Visit Fair workers’ rights, conducted by the Dominican La- World Project’s Alta Gracia Campaign They elected a site in the Dominican Republican bor Foundation. The union and management have Center for all the details, including where a Korean-owned plant had once made a joint health and safety committee, and the union background information, multimedia clothing for Nike and Reebok. The company, BJ&B, conducts vaccination programs, free fi nancial resources and organizing materials. had shut the factory down after its employees management and English courses and HIV preven- www.fairworldproject.org/altagracia unionized. But its workers had forged ties with tion workshops. The union and management meet American activists, and USAS leaders convinced regularly to discuss production, employee morale screen TV plays a video of smiling workers. Such the Knights executives that students would en- and potential improvements to the facility. eff orts have paid off : since August 2010, Duke has courage their peers to buy clothing produced sold more than $600,000 of Alta Gracia’s clothing. there. In February 2010, after a $500,000 renova- “Alta Gracia is the kind of workplace every worker tion based on recommendations with the Maqui- dreams of,” observes Maritza Vargas, a leader of “A t-shirt is a t-shirt – except this one is made with ladora Health and Safety Support Network, the Alta Gracia’s union. She noted that both union dignifi ed conditions for workers,” says Maria Lou- Alta Gracia facility opened for business. and management at Alta Gracia are largely led by zon, a University of Maryland student and national women – uncharacteristic in the Dominican Re- coordinator of United Students for Fair Trade. “It’s The new factory is far livelier than other nearby public. “We’re showing the world what is possible.” your school’s logo that makes a college tee cool.” workplaces. Bachata music and workers’ chatter are constant background noise. The factory has The survival of Alta Gracia will largely hinge on “Unlike other apparel companies and certifi ca- tions, Alta Gracia upholds a standard worthy of the term ‘Fair Trade’,” Lou- zon elaborated. “That’s why USFT has taken Alta Gracia on as one of our national priorities.”

So far it’s thriving. Large schools like the universities of Missouri, North Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin as well as NYU and UCLA carry size- able orders of Alta Gracia. With great fanfare, students at Notre Dame se- lected Alta Gracia as “The Shirt” that fans, alumni, and students wear to the fi rst football game of the year and whose sales proceeds are do- nated to charity.

If such success builds, says Bozich, “then we can take the next steps, in- Photo Credit: Photo by Morgan Currier, UW USAS student. cluding expanding outside college United Students Against Sweatshops and Sitralpro union President Jonathan Veitch of Occidental University shows off his Alta Gracia, bookstores and selling our brand to leaders show their “Si Se Puede” power fi sts outside which was brought to campus as a result of the student-run “Rock the Tag” other retailers.” of the Alta Gracia factory. campaign, student leaders Sarah Barton and Morgan Flake are pictured here. good ventilation, plenty of windows, and over- whether consumers are aware of the brand and its Alta Gracia contracts with Ethix Merch, a distribu- head lighting help workers avoid eye-strain. message. On many campuses eff orts to promote it tor of socially responsible merchandise, to sell are in full swing. At the University of Maryland, stu- custom printed T-shirts to social justice groups, But the biggest diff erence, says Upia, are the chairs. dents have circulated fl iers reading, “Your sweat- faith communities, workplaces, and others, so In most Dominican sewing factories, workers sit shirt can be a force for change in the world.” Other every-day consumers can join the eff ort outside on hard metal seats with no back support, leaning campuses have held fashion shows of union-made the college arena. awkwardly to operate their sewing machines. “We clothing. USAS sponsored two Alta Gracia workers would try to make cushions on the chairs from the who toured fourteen campuses from North Caro- Can the Alta Gracia label compete with Nike’s scraps of leftover clothes,” she recalls. “Your body lina to Boston. At Yale the visit inspired a student swoosh? Are consumers willing to look for the Alta would hurt all day.” Soon after the Alta Gracia petition to get the university to purchase Alta Gra- Gracia union label? If Alta Gracia can make profi t- factory opened, the workers noticed some nice- cia T-shirts to distribute to incoming freshmen, at able merchandise under humane conditions and looking offi ce chairs being unloaded from a truck. alumni reunions and other special events. sell it at competitive prices, it will challenge the ba- “They must be for the managers,” Upia thought. sic race-to-the-bottom economics of the apparel But they had been ordered for the workers, at a Whether campus bookstores prominently display industry and prove that conscientious consumers cost of about $50 a piece. “Now,” says Upia, “I don’t Alta Gracia apparel makes a big diff erence. Some can have an impact on humanizing the forces of have the back pain anymore.” managers are reluctant to promote the label, global capitalism. which competes with brands like Nike, which pay At Alta Gracia, workers have a union – a voice on universities huge licensing fees for the right to use “The only guarantee we have to keep this factory the job. In the Free Trade Zones of the Dominican their names, logos and mascots on the clothing operating in our community and as a model for Republic and around the world, unions are often they produce, mostly in Asian sweatshops. But oth- the industry is support from student and consum- the only hope garment workers have of enforcing ers, like Jim Wilkerson, who runs Duke University’s ers in the US,” says union leader Pablo Tolentino. basic human rights at work – water breaks, bath- twenty-seven campus stores, have championed room breaks, not being fi red for being pregnant, the Alta Gracia brand with great success. At Duke’s “The potential for change is limitless.” says Duke fi ghting back against sexual harassment and dis- fl agship store, Alta Gracia merchandise is promi- University administrator Wilkerson. “We just have crimination. While workers at Alta Gracia don’t nently displayed and stocked, and a large fl at- to keep it alive.”

www.fairworldproject.org 6 Contributing Writer Rudi Dalvai The Metamorphosis of Fair Trade The Fair Trade movement began its journey five decades ago. The initial idea was to build trading partnerships between Fair Trade Organizations – ‘FTOs’ - in the USA and Europe and small-scale producer organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The goal was to create development opportunities for marginalized producer communities, not through aid but by providing fair ac- cess to export markets – “TRADE NOT AID”. Raising con- sumer-awareness in the North about the unjust and un- fair practices and structures in international trade was and still is a second important goal for FTO’s.

here is no doubt that a great deal has been created. Gradually the “ethical demand” by main- • New multi-ingredient food and personal care achieved since the inception of the move- stream consumers assumed primacy. The differ- products are developed and introduced to Tment. Several thousand long-term trading- ence is subtle and radical at the same time. Subtle market with a fair trade seal all too often with a partnerships have been established between FTO’s enough not to be perceived as a risk by the FTOs low content of actual “Fair Trade” ingredients; and small producer organizations. Consumers have and radical enough to change the nature of Fair become increasingly aware of unjust international Trade. A central role in this process was adopted • Practically no criteria is applied to fi nal brand trading structures and millions now routinely buy by the Fair Trade labeling initiatives. holders in the West who use fair trade seals fair trade products. The guarantee for consumers on a limited number of their products in or- that products were made and traded according to Originally the aim was self-development der to improve their overall brand image at Fair Trade principles was provided by the positive of the producers, gradually the objective minimal cost. This is known as “fairwashing”; image and credibility the FTO’s had built through became guarantee against exploitation; their transparency and the direct, personal and of- • The new guarantee mechanisms fi t best ten voluntary involvement of many infl uential and Originally the excluded and marginal- with agricultural producers, leaving aside idealistic people from various walks of life. ized communities were the fi nal ben- those handicraft producers that were at efi ciaries of fair trade; gradually the de- Until the 1980’s, Fair Trade products were sold the origin of Fair Trade. The “new” Fair mand of the consumer became more Trade has left handicraft producers aside; mainly in the niche market of “Fair Trade Shops” and more important, almost to the in the USA and Europe. The demand for Fair Trade point of being the main need to satisfy; products began to grow by leaps and bounds and it • Last but not least, big producers and corpo- rate plantations have entered as new suppli- became evident that this simple idea had powerful Originally the concepts of partnership, di- ers of “fair trade” products with the inherent potential for infl uencing consumer behaviour on a rect contact, awareness-raising and equal risk of again marginalizing small producers very large scale. exchange were the means; gradually the who are supposed to be the primary benefi - market, ethical standards setting and the In the late 1980s, some Fair Trade activists in Hol- ciaries of fair trade as originally envisioned. certifi cation bodies became the means. land decided to take Fair Trade products beyond the niche market of Fair Trade Shops to mainstream It should be emphasized that the fi rst independent distribution channels. These channels and their The new form of fair trade is often oriented to devel- Fair Trade guarantee and labeling initiatives were consumers required proof of the Fair Trade claims. op and promote a particular certifi cation label and mostly supported by the pioneering FTO’s with their The logical consequence of this was that an inde- to satisfy the “ethical demand” of the consumer, thus credibility and image. To a certain extent the prima- pendent guarantee body was required to certify off ering the kind of guarantee against the exploita- ry aim of this support was to establish a commercial or guarantee the Fair Trade credentials of the prod- tion requested by the consumer. It’s a new concept Fair Trade brand to boost the sales of dedicated Fair ucts. This fact and the goal to safeguard Fair Trade that is introduced to the market, but it is certainly Trade products, rather than to establish ‘guarantee’ principles led to the creation of “Max Havelaar,” the diff erent from the concept expressed by Fair Trade organizations. The quandary was that the substan- fi rst Fair Trade certifi er and guarantee label. Since tial diff erence between “label” and “brand” was pioneers which is centered on the process of devel- then, more and more Fair Trade certifi ers and labels not fully understood, and that the label used as a emerged in the marketplace in the following two opment and partnership with small and marginal- “brand” was controlled and driven now by certifying decades, some better some worse, which changed ized producers, not simply that they are free from organizations that were focused more on fair trade the contours of Fair Trade substantially. exploitation. volume than fair trade integrity. The ‘family silver’ had been given away ! A development tool becomes a This metamorphosis opened a Pandora’s box...certain marketing tool! actors in the market place have launched cynical and Soon after their birth, the labeling initiatives began to roll on their own without accountability to the At the beginning, the ethical sensitivity of fair self-aggrandizing campaigns aimed at altering the per- traders and consumers was “the driving force” larger Fair Trade movement, and started clashing through which self-development opportunities ceptions of consumers about Fair Trade by changing with FTO’s and small producer organizations; they for small and marginalized producers had been the defi nition and the original meaning of Fair Trade: were driven by economic growth and the demands 7 Fair World Project | Fall 2012 It has to be acknowledged that Fair Trade certifi cation and labelling initiatives are more and more oriented to the multi- national companies and to large distribution channels. This is fi ne as long as this is done in a transparent and truthful way.

done in a transparent and truthful way.

As I don’t want to reach a hasty conclusion, I re- strain myself to the observation of the eff ects pro- duced by the diff erences between the traditional philosophy of Fair Trade and the philosophy result- ing from the metamorphosis of Fair Trade.

Fair Trade certifi cation and labeling initiatives are proceeding in a “zig zag” way, trying to keep to- gether both the traditional Fair Trade movement (the base they don’t want to lose) and large com- mercial licensees, who are repeatedly trying to control and water down Fair Trade principles.

As a leading pioneer in the Fair Trade movement, fi cation and labeling initiatives, are now two diff er- I believe we should welcome the new Fair Trade ent realities. These may be seen as complementary which has resulted from the metamorphosis as a concepts, both eff ective for the humanization of positive factor that, if well coordinated with the the economy if used consciously. If not used con- traditional Fair Trade, can represent a thrust to- sciously they both risk to be eaten up by the prac- wards the common objective: the humanization of tices of a profi t- driven market economy. the economy. It’s important to remain in dialogue, or start dialogue, and be clear about respective The role of FTOs is and remains that of the princi- roles and diff erent means. pal actor of Fair Trade which supports small and marginalized producers by building up long-term At this stage of the metamorphosis process of trading partnerships, based on dialogue, transpar- Fair Trade, the FTO’s that pioneered the Fair Trade ency and respect. Also awareness-raising among movement have to decide, if they will become vic- consumers remains an important issue and being tims of their own success, or will create jointly a responsive to conscious consumers is a priority, new success story by joining forces within the Fair while trying to reach the general consumer only if Trade movement to keep the torch alive of what is truly fair trade, and work against what is not. not against the original vision and mission of FTOs. of the markets rather than by the political and ideo- Personally I am convinced that we are still young, logical vision and values of Fair Trade. creative and dynamic enough to start a new suc- It is therefore very relevant and important for the cess story. Today, 20 years later, the same FTO’s that have con- FTOs to promote and highlight what we are and tributed to the birth and growth of the Fair Trade what we do, through the creation of our own com- Photo Credit’s from Left to Right: labeling initiatives and who make up the “heart and mon brand which is backed up by our own guar- Arab Women Artisans, Tora Asya. Photo by: Fair Trade Egypt soul” of the fair trade movement, have recognized antee system. This is necessary in order to protect and started to address this challenge that had been the credibility of our work and to commonly and Silence Workshop. Photo by: Richard Ilse - overlooked in the beginning. eff ectively promote the image of traditional Fair Packers. Photo by: Craft Aid Mauritius Trade principles and values of FTOs. Soapstone Incising. Photo by: True Miracle I would like to end this article with some concepts Cerámica de Chulucanas, Piura. Photo by: Allpa SAC in which I believe. It has to be acknowledged that Fair Trade certifi ca- tion and labeling initiatives are more and more ori- SIPA Woman Artisan. Photo by: Richard Ilse, Traidcraft “Traditional” Fair Trade and market-oriented Fair ented to the multi-national companies and to large Rehab Craft Cambodia Workshop. Photo by: Richard Ilse, Traidcraft Trade, designated by the growing number of certi- distribution channels. This is fi ne as long as this is Bolivian Indigenous Producers. Photo by: Asarbolsem

www.fairworldproject.org 8 Contributing Writer credit, you as an organization don’t have your basic needs met. And if you don’t have your basic organi- Meg Wilcox zational needs met, you can’t dream.”

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To date, Root Capital has disbursed almost $400 million in credit to more than 460 businesses in Africa and Latin America, helping improve liveli- hoods for more than 600,000 farmer households. Root Capital also off ers fi nancial management training to its clients.

Our clients serve as economic engines of rural com- munities in the developing world, paying higher and more stable prices to small-scale farmers than they could otherwise obtain. This in turn strength- ens local communities and empowers farmers to adopt environmentally sustainable practices, such as soil and water conservation, that are critical to long-term prosperity.

Gumutindo’s success, for example, ripples across the coff ee growing communities. At one primary cooperative, farmers launched a savings and credit union through which women infected with HIV/ AIDS save 500 shillings each week (about 50 cents) to feed their families if staple food crops fail. They contribute another 500 shillings to an endowment Photo Credit: Shannon Jensen, Root Capital fund for their farmer cooperative’s elementary school. Gumutindo Cooperative members sorting coff ee beans When it comes to Fair Trade, Root Capital is gen- erally the last mile solution. That is, cooperatives traddling the borders of Uganda and Kenya, tive can’t pay for their harvest in a timely manner, typically seek fi nancing from Root Capital after massive Mount Elgon towers above the hot they’re going to sell it at a much worse price to a they’ve already obtained certifi cation but, like Gu- SAfrican plains, providing cool shelter to a local buyer.” mutindo, are unable to take full advantage of their rich diversity of plant and animal life. Its forested certifi cation. slopes provide a perfect climate for growing cof- In 2005, Gumutindo approached Root Capital, a fee, and for generations the Bagisu tribespeople nonprofi t social investment fund, seeking fi nanc- Kpeya Agricultural Enterprises, a cocoa coopera- have cultivated Robusta and Arabica beans there. ing. With Root Capital’s credit, the cooperative was tive in Sierra Leone, is another example. Though it able to expand its reach and market share from was the fi rst cocoa cooperative to obtain Fair Trade Today, the Fair Trade, organic coff ee cooperative $473,000 in revenues in 2004 to over $3 million certifi cation in that country, a lack of credit forced Gumutindo helps bring Mount Elgon coff ee to so- in 2011. Payments to individual coff ee producers it to sell to local buyers for two cially-conscious consumers in years, at $200 less per ton. Root and Europe. Gu- Capital’s $30,000 loan will now en- mutindo, which means “excel- “Most of the co-ops are undercapitalized, with able Kpeya to fi ll orders from Fair lent coff ee” in the local Lugisu Trade buyers. language of Eastern Uganda, is few hard assets, which makes it hard to leverage a “secondary” co-operative that credit,” says Rosenthal. “And if you don’t have Root Capital is funded by debt in- unites six smaller Ugandan co- access to credit, you as an organization don’t have vestments and philanthropy. One operatives and exports coff ee hundred percent of the loans we directly to Fair Trade and or- your basic needs met. And if you don’t have your accept are placed with borrowers ganic buyers. {}in Latin America and Africa. Dona- basic organizational needs met, you can’t dream.” tions strengthen our balance sheet Though prosperous today, a and underwrite our fi nancial advi- lack of working capital in its ear- sory services and other costs. Be- ly years constrained Gumutindo’s ability to thrive. more than doubled, and the number of farmers cause we seek to catalyze a larger fi nancial market Gumutindo could secure contracts with Fair Trade supplying Gumutindo rose from 2,500 to 6,750. serving rural enterprises, we lend at commercial buyers, but it didn’t have enough cash to buy the rates. Charging lower rates would distort local mar- large volumes of beans from its members that the Like Gumutindo, Fair Trade cooperatives around kets and fail to attract other lenders, undermining buyers required, nor the fi nancing to pay for the the world have diffi culty accessing credit from Root Capital’s mission to evolve a viable long term beans’ processing and export. Gumutindo’s mem- commercial lenders, which hinders their ability to lending model. bers are small-scale, subsistence coff ee farmers grow and provide sustainable livelihoods to their who couldn’t wait for the buyers to pay the coop- members. Most commercial banks won’t lend to Our model has proven so successful that commer- erative to receive their share. Gumutindo therefore rural businesses, and if they do, they demand pay- cial lenders are crowding into the market in Peru, could not fi ll the international buyers’ orders and ment schedules and hard collateral that cash-poor the country where we’ve operated the longest. many of its members sold their beans locally. enterprises struggle to provide. Like Root Capital, they are providing the credit that’s needed to help Fair Trade cooperatives and “Most small-scale farmers live hand to mouth,” “Most of the co-ops are undercapitalized, with few other social enterprises fl ourish and grow. explains Jonathan Rosenthal, founder of Equal hard assets, which makes it hard to leverage cred- Exchange. “They need the cash, and if a coopera- it,” says Rosenthal. “And if you don’t have access to

9 Fair World Project | Fall 2012 18 years since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force, communities throughout the US, Mexico and have witnessed the steady de- cline of quality of life and human rights. Proponents of FTAs have assured us that FTAs would create hundreds of thousands of jobs, raise living standards across the board, improve environmental conditions and elevate poor countries out of poverty.

Almost two decades after the “NAFTA experiment” the results are in: we’ve seen overall increases in Gross Do- mestic Product, but lower wages and greater income inequality; increased trade amongst member countries, but higher prices for basic items, like food and medi- cine; and a greater diversity of consumer products, but increased environmental degradation in participating countries. Overall, farmers in NAFTA countries, North and South, have borne the brunt of unfair trade policies, los- ing their land at a record pace, pushed out by industry consolidation and subsidies that prioritize corporate ag- riculture over family scale producers. Importantly, FTAs, like NAFTA, have created a binding legal framework where local and national laws can be challenged by cor- porations and overturned to accommodate new trading laws, with confl icts arbitrated by trade tribunals that are completely unaccountable to the citizenry. According to Public Citizen, since 1994 over $350 million public dollars have been paid to corporations under NAFTA for “com- pensation” for lost potential profi ts due to national and local environmental, zoning and labor policies, among others, restricting corporate operations. On the whole, FTAs have institutionalized supranational trade laws that NAFTA of the Pacifi c have enriched local elites at the expense of people, the Around the Corner environment and community based economies. Now, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is ne- gotiating an expansion of these policies as part of the TPP, In April 2012, the United States’ “Free Trade to include not only Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Agreement” (FTA) with Colombia went into Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore eff ect, despite tens of thousands of letters and Vietnam, but eventually other countries, like , and calls from concerned citizens, including Korea, and China. It is poised to become the largest Free Trade Agreement in the world. The TPP is likely to impact farmers, consumers, labor and environmental jobs, wages, agriculture, migration, the environment, ac- organizations objecting to the Agreement’s cess to medicine, consumer safety, banking regulations, trade policies. The Colombia FTA continues indigenous rights, internet freedom, government pro- the US’s failed trade policy that prioritizes curement and more. To date, the USTR has negotiated corporate rule above local sovereignty, envi- the TPP behind closed doors, without citizen or Congres- sional oversight, but with 600 corporate advisors. While ronmental and labor protections, and human economic globalization can work for farmers, workers rights. The Obama Administration is now pro- consumers, and the environment, it must be responsive moting and negotiating the Trans-Pacifi c Part- and accountable to people and the environment, not just nership (TPP), also known as “NAFTA of the business interests. Pacifi c,” behind closed doors, with little civil Learn more and take action: society or even Congressional oversight. www.fairworldproject.org/trade Contributing Writer Phyllis Robinson Co-operatives: The Heart and Soul of the Fair Trade Movement

he United Nations has declared 2012 the stewardship , were all important pieces woven International Year of the Co-operative into this new blend of Fair Trade activism. T“highlighting the contribution of coopera- tives to socio-economic development, particu- Since then, co-operatives have been the heart larly their impact on poverty reduction, employ- and soul of the Fair Trade movement. Not just ment generation and social integration.” (www. “suppliers” or “buyers”, Fair Trade co-operatives un.org) At a time when national economies are are true, equal partners operating within a global failing, corporate infl uence is becoming more family of traders and activists working to change concentrated, and workers are food, agriculture and trade losing economic and political systems. They incorporate the power, what better moment to co-operative principles in their uphold the co-operative values business models: democratic of self-help, democracy, equal- member control; member eco- ity, equity and solidarity? nomic participation; concern for community; and education, The contribution of co-opera- training, and information. tives couldn’t be more evident – and their involvement more Farmer co-operatives do much critical – than the role they’ve more than sell products. They played in Fair Trade. Small farmer co-operatives educate and train their members in production, in the Global South, and worker-owned and quality, environmental management, democrat- consumer co-operatives in the North, have been ic organization, and other areas. They support three invaluable links in a co-operative supply their communities, and achieve far reaching eco- chain that has helped shape and build an em- nomic and political empowerment. powering and activist model of trade that sup- ports small farmers, democratic organizations, During Hurricane Stan in 2005, the farmer co- and engaged consumers. operative Cesmach in Chiapas, Mexico organized community self-help groups to provide emer- The earliest roots of Fair Trade began after World gency assistance to aff ected communities; Tierra War II to provide markets for handicrafts pro- Nueva in Boaco, organized refores- duced by eastern European refugees, as a pover- tation projects; and Asprocafe Ingruma in Co- ty alleviation project. During the mid-70s, how- lombia developed food sovereignty and youth ever, a new wave of businesses in Europe, called employment training projects. Wupperthal Rooi- Alternative Trade Organizations (ATOs), sprang bos Association in South Africa is working on up with a markedly distinct philosophy. The climate change adaptation projects and Manos ATOs believed that market access for small-scale Campesinas in Guatemala supports gender train- producers was not something to be provided out ing and fi nancial literacy workshops. In northern of charity, but as a right. The philosophy, “Trade Peru, Cepicafe and other coff ee co-operatives not Aid” was coined, along with the principles es- organized anti-mining activities and success- tablishing long term, direct, and equitable trad- fully launched a political candidate to Congress ing partnerships. who has since gone on to become the current Peruvian Vice President. Because farmer co-op- The ATOs realized that the partnerships they were eratives are owned by the members themselves, looking for could be found in the fl edgling small members have more decision-making authority, farmer co-operative movement. Small-scale are more emotionally and fi nancially invested in farmers, historically marginalized and without their businesses, and have more pride and own- access to social services, infrastructure, credit, ership in the results of their work. markets, or technical assistance, were organizing themselves as a means of survival, particularly Worker cooperatives in the North have also been in Central and South America. The co-ops were instrumental in building Fair Trade. Equal Ex- often members of larger social movements that change, the largest Fair Trade co-operative in the were taking hold throughout the Global South as United States, brought Fair Trade food and coff ee farmers, workers, students, women, indigenous to this country. Today many individually owned and others struggled for economic and social roasters and multi-national corporations are in- rights. These basic rights, along with widespread volved in Fair Trade, but it has been the co-op- need for agrarian reform, and environmental eratives in North America and Europe that threw

11 Fair World Project | Fall 2012 Photo Credit: Lynsey Miller, Uganda Gumutindo, 2011 themselves into this work. The system would not Fair Trade food and beverages have now been ate their products from those exist without their wholehearted dedication to around for 25 years in the United States and the within the Fair trade system the model, to buying and selling 100% of their movement has had great success. Small farmer that come from plantations. products at Fair Trade terms, and assuming huge organizations are considerably stronger than The CLAC has been actively risks to build a market where none existed. they have ever been. Small farmers have a seat promoting the SPP and op- at the table that would have been unthinkable posing Fair Trade USA’s Fair Equal Exchange’s three founders decided not to before Fair Trade was created. Consumers are far Trade for All. Not surprising- create a non-profi t or a traditional business, but more educated about the food system and will- ly, it is the worker co-ops in the U.S., Canada, and instead to put their belief in worker democracy ing to take actions to support positive change. Europe that are leading the way to use the SPP into practice by creating a co-operative where seal on their products and begin promoting small the workers owned equal shares of the business, But, there is still a long way to go. farmer Fair Trade products in the marketplace. vote for the Board of Directors, and have other decision-making rights. They wanted to change Today, the biggest threat facing Fair Trade farmer The co-ops in the North are also doing their part the way business is conducted by demonstrating co-ops comes from the Fair Trade certifi er itself. In to “refound Fair Trade”, as Santiago Paz, General that a business could be profi table and still have the same year the United Nations chose to uphold Manager of Cepicafe Coff ee Co-op in Peru, urged. a social mission. If farmer co-operatives were to co-ops as a community economic development Two years ago, Equal Exchange and six consumer be audited for democratic structures, fi nancial and worker empowerment model, the biggest co-ops in the U.S. launched a pilot project, Prin- solvency, and transparent accounting and busi- U.S. certifi er, Fair Trade USA (formerly TransFair ciple Six, in the United States to highlight the ness practices, they believed that Equal Exchange USA) has launched an initiative, Fair Trade for All, co-ops’ highest value products: those grown should be as well. which allows for certifi cation of coff ee and cacao or produced locally or internationally by small plantations and individual farmers that are not farmers and co-operatives. Food co-ops, always Food co-ops are the third link in the Fair Trade organized in co-operatives. Vehemently opposed supply chain. As early supporters of Fair Trade, by small farmer organizations and others in the in the forefront of the food justice movements, they understood the importance of this new Fair Trade movement, this initiative threatens the have too-often seen their values compromised model before the concept became a household very existence of small farmer co-operatives. The and “taken” by large corporations with extensive word. Food co-ops were the perfect partners in reason that the Fair Trade system was created – to marketing dollars. Principle Six allows co-ops to the North. They had championed the ideals of support market access for reclaim co-operative values and take their place “food for people, not for profi t” and were leaders small farmer organizations again at the forefront of a new in the natural foods, food justice, and buy local that could not compete era. movements. It made perfect sense to support with large-scale plantations small farmer co-op supply chains by promoting – is now being replicated Finally, in response to Fair Trade Fair Trade products, especially those manufac- within the actual Fair Trade USA’s Fair for All initiative, tured by worker co-ops. This was, after all, the movement. visit equalexchange.coop to take action Equal Exchange has launched sixth co-operative principle: cooperation among the Authentic Fair Trade Cam- co-ops. Is there hope? Through all the challenges, small paign in support of small farmer co-ops, stating farmers and co-ops have played a protagonist that plantations do not belong in Fair Trade cof- role, meeting each test head-on. The organiza- fee. The statement has been signed by roughly tions of Fair Trade Small Farmer Co-ops in Latin 8,000 individuals and close to 100 co-ops. Food America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia have co-ops have enthusiastically added their names created their own networks to advocate for fair to the statement, begun educating their staff and policies and standards, and to have a greater members, and are doing what they can to keep voice in shaping the Fair Trade movement. After small farmer Fair Trade products at the forefront years of work, last year the producer networks of their shoppers’ attention. fi nally achieved 50% representation on the Gen- eral Assembly of Fairtrade International (FTI), for- In this Year of the Co-op, will the Fair Trade move- merly FLO, and 40% of its Board. ment stay true to its original values and keep co- ops at the forefront of its mission? It will require Last year, the Latin America and the Caribbean all of us to take a stand, not just with small farm- network (CLAC) launched the fi rst Fair Trade cer- ers – but with organized small farmers, workers, and consumer movements as well. Go Co-op! Illustration by John Klossner tifi cation system created by small farmers; the Small Producer Symbol (SPP) is a way to diff erenti-

www.fairworldproject.org 12 Photo of Nnobua by Brian Moody

Contributing Writer Erin Gorman N’nobua: How Cooperation Makes Chocolate Something Everyone Can Cherish N’nobua is a community tradition among cocoa farmers in Ghana. N’nobua means “if you help me, I will help you.” Cocoa farming is hot, tedious work performed from the early morning hours in the rainforest. In addition to a cutlass, a farmer’s most treasured item is a pair of rubber boots to protect against scorpions and other bugs crawling around on the forest fl oor. It’s more than one can do alone so friends and neighbors help one another gather the cocoa pods and break them open for fermentation. It’s a great opportunity to share information about what works and what doesn’t to address the many challenges farmers face with their cocoa crops. It’s also a time to do what friends and neighbors do when they get together – share stories, gossip, laugh, talk about their children and their lives. Organizing, both formally and informally like n’nobua, is one of the widespread acceptance of women’s leadership throughout the orga- most important opportunities that membership in a cooperative pro- nization. vides to family farmers such as the 60,000 cocoa farmers who belong to Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union in Ghana. Being organized is a way of hav- Cocoa is seasonal and when the money from cocoa is gone, farmers ing power, a way of not being alone, and a way of having a greater pool enter into the ‘lean season’. Families may not have enough to buy food of resources to create solutions to problems. Kuapa is one of the most staples, buy school books or pay for uniforms required to attend school, well established and respected Fair or pay for other emergencies that arise. Trade farmers organizations because it Kuapa Kokoo started their Women’s has formalized farmer participation and Projects to fill this need. Women or- grassroots democracy at a significant ganize into groups in village societies. scale. But Kuapa has also prioritized the The groups then apply to Kuapa’s Cred- role of women in democracy and this it Union for training and ultimately makes them unique. micro credit loans to help women em- bark on income generation activities To join Kuapa, farmers must organize such as soap making, batik, and rais- themselves into a village society, a lo- ing of small animals such as snails and cal cooperative organization, with an food crops for sale in the local market. elected board of farmers where women Women train together, plan together, must hold at least two of the elected and all along the way, learn what it positions. The requirement of women’s means to be respected in their family Photo of Grace Dufie, Photo of Lydia Boateng, formal representation is consistent at by Charlotte Borger by Charlotte Borger and community for their accomplish- every level of the organization. For ments. It also changes what women nearly two decades Kuapa farmers have trained and encouraged wom- think is possible for the future and that influences what their children en to participate, stand for election, and become leaders. Women like believe is possible for themselves. Lydia Boateng, Grace Dufie’s 17 year Grace Dufie, an elected recorder or buying clerk for Kuapa in the vil- old daughter says of her mother, “Being in Kuapa has helped her be a lage of Gambia 2, Kasapin District, reflects ” Life would be hard if I had good mother to me; she has been able to pay my school fees and I am not joined Kuapa Kokoo – in Kuapa we are one, all together.” For many very happy to go to school. I would like to be a nurse so I can help my women, membership in Kuapa Kokoo is the first time in their lives they neighbors when they are sick.” have been afforded the opportunity to have a say in a room full of men and be heard. When we buy fair trade chocolate we are connected and cooperating with family farmers like Grace and her daughter in the global food sys- Why the focus on women? Kuapa recognized that women have a signif- tem. What we choose to buy and what we choose to eat shapes the op- icant role in cocoa farming but because they were not engaged in the portunities for women and their families the world over. Our job is to selling of cocoa to the buying clerks that collect cocoa in Ghana, they strive to be well-informed and deliberate consumers of foods that make had little access to the economic benefits of cocoa production. In a it possible for farmers to be treated with dignity and respect. Fair Trade Fair Trade farmer’s organization that invests in its com- that focuses on family farmer cooperatives en- munities, women also had an important ables farmers to collectively invest role to play in ensuring that in healthier communi- benefits were directed ties, better agricul- to the whole of a com- tural practices, and munity, including its democratic empow- children. By creating a erment so that the formal way for women most marginalized, to participate, Kuapa including women and could ensure that women children, enjoy fair and could access money from decent treatment. the sale of cocoa, use that money to feed children, Divine’s mission, as a Fair send them to school, and Trade chocolate company they could also have a say largely owned by the farm- in how Kuapa’s Fair Trade pre- ers of Kuapa Kokoo, is to mium is spent. Women’s influ- Divine Fan Pack make chocolate something ence can be seen in the significant that is cherished by everyone, investment Kuapa has made in building schools, creating scholarships including cocoa farmers. We hope to be a bridge between cocoa and and creating additional income generation opportunities for women. chocolate lovers so that together we can make chocolate something to The first woman president of Kuapa Kokoo was elected two years ago feel good about. We hope you will Dacherish Divine too! and is a testament to the success of their leadership training and the

www.fairworldproject.org 14 Making Fair and Sustainable Palm Oil in Ghana

Palm oil is a widely used, high volume and highly controversial plant oil. Its properties make it suitable for many applications in food, body care and energy use. Large palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia now achieve very high and oil yields per unit area, making palm oil an economic choice for many manufacturers.

PhoP to of Obeng Kwesi and Regina Akoto by Dana Geff ner cies. We asked Danieama, a family of local en- with farmers to ensure that farm workers are paid trepreneurs who had helped start the project, and treated fairly. For production workers, the to manage the cramer on behalf of Dr. Bron- cramer in Asuom off ers conditions uncommon in ner’s with our support. As production grew, we that industry: staff enjoys wages of 25-30% above Contributing Writers founded Serendipalm Co. Ltd., Dr. Bronner’s sis- local levels, registration for health insurance and Rob Hardy, Safianu Moro, Gero Leson ter company to host the entire project. We hired social security, safe working conditions, one hot accountants, additional fi eld offi cers, a project meal per day, treatment with respect and po- manager, set up a payroll system and registered tential for personal and professional growth. The Serendipalm for exportation and importation of friendly yet hard working atmosphere at the cra- That success comes at a high price: large-scale urgently needed tractors and trailers. As of the mer is testimony to that. palm plantations, often several 10,000 acres in peak harvest season of 2012, the project employs size, represent huge monocultures often planted some 260 people, most of them unskilled hard- A powerful tool for rural development are the in- on purposely cleared primary forest or bog land working women from Asuom. It is the largest lo- dividual fair trade projects in the community that that force out human and wildlife communities. cal employer in an area with little formal employ- are discussed, agreed upon and implemented by Notably, since the mid 1990s, vast tracts of for- ment, and for this and other signifi cant reasons a representative stake-holder Fair Trade Commit- est on Sumatra were burned or clear-felled to it is greatly respected. After several scale-ups, the tee composed of a majority of farmers, and cra- make room for oil palms, which adds the release mill now supplies 300 plus metric tons per year mer workers and management. This in itself is a of vast amounts of carbon dioxide to the list of of fair trade and organic palm oil needed by Dr. powerful mechanism for learning and develop- environmental damages caused by oil palm pla- Bronner’s and additionally exports smaller quan- ment. Serendipalm charges all customers, includ- nations. Consequently, many environmentalists tities to several other European fi rms committed ing Dr. Bronner’s, a fair trade premium, calculated have understandably but wrongly argued that to fair trade. at 10% on total fruit purchases and cost of labor. palm oil cannot be produced in a sustainable With a budget of currently $50,000 / year, simple and responsible way. The Serendipalm/Danieama water supply systems have been the project developed by Dr. Bronner’s fi rst major need for all towns that since 2007 in Ghana’s Eastern Region the Committee decided to address. clearly shows that it can. The com- The FT fund pays for hardware (deep bination of organic and fair-trade wells, pumps, building, storage standards ensures sustainability and tanks), and the community collects social responsibility along the supply a user fee that pays for maintenance chain– with respective seals used on and expansion. Likewise, living quar- retail packs that are recognized and ters for four nurses to work at a local trusted by informed consumers. hospital were completed in early 2012. FT projects do more than just Since 2006 Dr. Bronner’s has shifted install hardware; they are catalysts over 95% of raw agricultural material through which communities without volume used in making our soaps to access to funds learn to plan and im- sources that are certifi ed fair trade plement development projects – on and organic (FTO). We wanted to tight budgets. know who makes our raw materials and ensure that fair prices and wages For farmers and our staff who want are paid, and their production ben- to replant oil palm, Serendipalm sup- efi ts the local community and envi- ply seedlings of high yielding variet- ronment. Next to coconut oil, palm Photo of Martin Oduro by Gero Leson ies as interest free loans. For farmers oil is our second most important in- it increases income and workers who gredient by volume. Made from the of the Some 300 organic and fair-trade small holders plant on family land consider the trees as a provi- oil palm, palm oil gives our bar soaps, and those now supply us with fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from sion for their retirement. Serendipalm commits to of other brands, hardness and longevity. some 2,500 acres. Another 300 farmers are in purchasing these fruits as fair trade and organic at conversion to full organic status. Once the proj- a substantial market premium. With its own and First, in cooperation with the NGO Fearless Planet, ect started, farmers in the project’s main towns 3rd party demand for FTO palm oil growing, Dr. we hired 4 agricultural fi eld offi ers c to operate an formed associations that negotiate with Serendi- Bronner’s will invest in a large expansion of Ser- Internal Control System (ICS), necessary for the palm over FFB prices, plan farmer trainings and endipalm in the project area. A larger, more effi - certifi cation of small-holder grower groups; this execute fair trade projects. The entire project is cient mill will come on line in 2013 and consume is the heart of the organic and fair trade system inspected at least annually and certifi ed organic up to 5 times the current FFB volume, create ad- in such situations, to ensure the standards are and fair trade by the Institute of Marketecology ditional attractive jobs, improve farm incomes implemented in the fi eld. The ICS team registered (IMO), an internationally respected Swiss Certi- and contribute to the development of an area full small-holder farmers around the town of Asuom fi cation Body, under its organic and Fair for Life of natural resources and great people – but ne- in Ghana’s Eastern region and supported their programs. glected by its government. For Dr. Bronner’s staff conversion to organic oil palm cultivation. The and friends who have helped build the project, area hosts thousands of smallholders who grow What’s fair and sustainable about this project? the greatest part is the direct, meaningful and oil palm, cocoa and citrus on small plots between First, we pay farmers a market premium price for enjoyable exchange with our Ghanaian partners 2-5 acres as their main source of income. We then their FFB that guarantees a fair profi t. We also sup- – it makes us realize that trade can aff ect positive designed and built a small oil mill in Asuom, that port them technically in improving soil fertility, change if done with high integrity of motivation, was modeled on the hundreds of local artisan oil fruit yields and profi tability through farm mainte- and implementation of standards. mills, called cramers, in the area, but with much nance loans and by supplying nutrient rich bio- better facilities, working conditions and effi cien- mass from the mill as mulch. We use our leverage

www.fairworldproject.org 16 Contributing Writer Michael Sligh Fair Trade at the Crossroads – Lessons from the Organic Movement

uring this period of turbulence and chal- The story of the institutionalization of organic the structure or the cross-sector unity needed to lenges in the Fair Trade movement, it through governmental regulations is not meant protect organic integrity as it grew. We set out to Dseems appropriate to refl ect on the most- to imply that fair trade should or even could take create a “public/private partnership” by establish- ly separate but parallel trajectories of fair trade this approach. It is simply to state that when or- ing creative solutions to old school governmental and organic. Fair trade is at the crossroads and ganics was at a critical crossroads and could not regulations. A national citizen board (the National organics has been there before. This article hopes see how to “self-organize” suffi ciently to manage Organic Standards Board or NOSB) made up of to shed some insights from the experience of the growth and protect consumer confi dence – we all stakeholders with no one-sector dominating organic movement. chose the governmental route. shares statutory powers with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA cannot add ma- Of course, the Fair Trade and Organic movements As market demand grew beyond localized mar- terials not approved by NOSB but can remove if have much in common. Today, much of fairly kets, it became clear that organics would need found to be harmful. The USDA National Organic traded coff ee and chocolates are dual-certifi ed harmonization of standards and third–party veri- Program and its accreditation division must be re- as both fair trade and organic. The Grower Group fi cation systems to ensure consumer confi dence. viewed and recognized by a third party evaluator model that allows small farmers to form coop- In the 1970’s the International Federation of Or- to ensure their compliance with the organic law. eratives or democratically–run grower groups ganic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) was creat- Because of organics contributions to society as a whole, there is some taxpayer support. This still and seek group certifi cation, rather than each ed to develop community–owned standards for represents one of the most creative, enlightened small farm needing individual certifi cation, has organic and to use stakeholder-driven processes and fully participatory and transparent regula- been a huge boon to thousands of small Global to promote and develop organic worldwide. The tions in US history – fl aws and all. South farmers by gaining honest access to both idea was to have strong community standards the growing organic and fair trade markets in that would push and hold governmental stan- In retrospect this was probably the most viable the North. Both are born from passionate com- dards accountable. There were participants from way forward for us at the time and more has been mitment, both these movements share a strong diff erent parts of the world but the EU clearly gained from governmental support than was lost. sense that just opposing the wrong is not enough dominated. However, the challenges of man- Our biggest wins were the messages that the gov- – we must build the sane alternative. aging two-front strategies while staying ahead ernmental seal is backed up by strong third-party of consumer demand and creating truly global verifi cation systems; including accreditation of Both trace their recent revival periods to the last standards that meet diverse needs of regional certifi ers, appeals, enforcement and oversight; century when the excesses of corporate agribusi- organic practices has remained daunting – to say and evaluation of accredi- ness-as-usual became all too visible and painful. the least. tors along with the Both movements have been bottom-up grass- critical public process roots responses with a lot of sweat equity and In the 1980’s faced with expanding markets but for setting and main- minimum mainstream support, until recently. with many diff erent standards and defi nitions of taining standards. Both movements are dependent on continued organic world-wide, Europe was the fi rst to take These are key com- strong consumer and stakeholder support and the approach of creating governmental organic ponents of the cred- trust. regulations to standardize the claim and create ibility architecture market clarity - setting the stage for a global rush that Fair Trade must While both started out with market claims – each toward governmental organic regulations. Today, now secure for itself. had very diff erent goals. Fair trade has pursued there are organic regulations in over 60 countries the goals of empowering marginalized small and the challenges ahead are harmonization and We were however required to compromise key farmers in the Global South who have suff ered equivalency. provisions of the organic platform in this trade- from corporate concentration and unfair trade off and this should serve as a valuable lesson for practices. Organic set out to off er the alterna- On this side of the Atlantic during that same pe- the fair trade movement. tive to destructive pesticide-based agriculture riod, there were mighty debates about the pros through holistic environmental, social and hu- and cons of a “governmental solution” to the The governmental defi nition was narrower than mane stewardship practices. Both were about problem of how best to institutionalize organic, the community defi nition and specifi cally left meeting an un-tapped consumer demand by do- to build and very importantly to continue to out the fairness to farmers and workers, research, ing good. pay for, protect and maintain our standards and promotion and energy-effi ciency. What we had market integrity. The central issue was – could hoped would be the “fl oor” under standards also Both movements required the development and we organize ourselves suffi ciently and fairly such became for practical purposes the “ceiling” and on-going maintenance of marketplace architec- that we could manage this rapidly growing move- driving up standards is very slow and diffi cult and is not pro-active in signaling market directions. ture that did not exist – standards -setting, verifi - ment without governmental intervention? cation mechanisms and transparent and account- Organic when in the informal sector prior to fed- able market labeling claims. The US movement tried its best to learn from eral institutionalization was widely understood as the EU experience of governmental regulations. a holistic approach that cared about the whole However, the two movements have taken very We eventually chose the governmental route as system – the land, plants, animals and the peo- diff erent routes and means to achieve their rela- an inevitable outcome that we should make the ple who care for all of this but, this was just too tive marketplace successes. best of because we did not have the resources, 17 Fair World Project | Fall 2012 big a leap for the government to accept and thus we have mostly an environmental claim with the fairness and other aspects now needing to be added back-in through credible marketplace, private and Non-Gov- ernment Organization (NGO) initiatives.

Governmental understanding of what is organic has been slow and painful.

Federal policy is biased toward the large scale and ac- cess to federal decision-makers is not equal. It is also very expensive for the grassroots to maintain contin- ued participation in the process.

Formal organic certifi cation as a value proposition for many small-scale farmers is very limited unless they form cooperatives or grower groups. Many also either do not use formal certifi cation because they: sell di- rect and qualify under the small scale organic sales exemption rule; simply do not make a formal claim of organic anymore; or seek alternative forms of verifi ca- tion such as – Participatory Guarantee Systems, (PGS), which is not yet recognized fully by all governmental programs.

The recent name change of Transfair USA to Fair Trade USA and its abandonment of the international Fair Labeling Organization system and its relaxing of fair trade practices have resulted in a major split in this vibrant movement. So, as the fair trade move- ment stands at its crossroads -- it must act swiftly to strengthen and protect its core credibility:

• Fair Trade standard setting must become more unifi ed, formalized and fully owned by the larger community;

• Verifi cation and oversight mechanisms must be fully transparent, participatory and refl ect the stakeholders and their priorities, as well as con- sumer expectations;

• Accreditation and meaningful stakeholder over- sight of the fair trade claim is essential to cred- ibility; Federal policy is biased • Dispute resolution and appeals must be easily ac- cessible and broadly adopted; toward the large scale and

• Swiftly build credible partnerships and much access to federal decision- more synergy with the organic community to off er multiple and merged claims through mutual makers is not equal. It is inspection; also very expensive for • And fi nally protecting and defending the rights of the most vulnerable segments of the market must the grassroots to maintain remain paramount. continued participation in Ironically, the part left out of organic in the govern- mental process – the claim of fairness – is now giving the process. organics a very valuable opportunity to add this addi- tional value back to organic through the marketplace and outside of the federal process because of the en- during value of the fair trade claim.

History will judge these two movements not just by the incremental progress made but also by how well we avoided becoming what we set out to be the sane alternative to! Photo of Inspectors in a fi eld