The document summarizes information about the Ilkley Fairtrade Group and their work promoting Fairtrade. Some key points:
- The group campaigns to raise awareness of Fairtrade and how it provides better prices and working conditions for farmers in developing countries.
- Fairtrade enables farmer cooperatives to receive a social premium to invest in community projects like schools, clinics, and infrastructure.
- The group organizes various events in Ilkley and the surrounding area during Fairtrade Fortnight to promote Fairtrade products and the positive impact the system has on farmers' livelihoods and communities.
- Ilkley was awarded Fairtrade Town status in 2006 in recognition of its work supporting Fairtrade.
3. WHAT IS FAIRTRADE?
Fairtrade is about better prices, decent
working conditions, local sustainability, and
fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in
the developing world.
Choose products
with this Mark.
www.fairtrade.org.uk
4. FAIR PRICES &
A SOCIAL PREMIUM
• Fairtrade enables farmers to trade their
way out of poverty.
• Gives them stability and more control.
• Farmer co-operatives can use the social
premium for projects of their choosing:
eg health clinics, schools / teachers,
roads, business training and
equipment, water wells etc.
5. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
• 870 million people go hungry every day.
• Smallholder farmers produce 70% of the world’s
food
BUT
• Over 50% of the world’s undernourished people are
smallholder farmers.
• Most small farmers are net food buyers (buying more
food than they sell), meaning they are currently suffering
rather than gaining from high food prices.
• Almost one in four children are underweight in subSaharan Africa. Many of these live on small farms.
6. Divine – cocoa from Ghana
Farmers are predominantly smallholders living in
remote and deprived parts of the country. Most of the
cocoa growing villages do not have access to
healthcare, clean drinking water, or electricity and rely
on kerosene for artificial light. Most villages lack
basic
schools, educational materials, and teachers.
7. Divine – some of the social
premium benefits
• Dozens of social projects eg wells and bore holes for
drinking water.
Construction of public toilets.
• Mobile health programme visiting members’ villages.
• Day care centres.
• Classrooms and teaching resources.
• 2 mobile cinema vans for farmers' education
programme.
• Construction of warehousing at the port.
• Funding for alternative income generating schemes
eg soap making; tie dye textiles; palm nut farming.
8. Traidcraft – sugar from Malawi
Fairtrade social
premium benefits
Borehole built for the 2 villages
near Kasinthula Cane Growers
Ltd.
Villagers no longer have to rely
on water from the crocodileinfested Shire River.
They also have electricity for the
first time.
9. Traidcraft
Bore hole supplying clean
water
Traidcraft has helped to
fund several training
activities to help the farmers
understand their business
better.
Many of the farmers have
very low levels of literacy
and numeracy, so progress
can be slow.
10. TRADE JUSTICE
• Fairtrade works with farmers and workers
in developing countries.
• Products include bananas, cocoa, tea,
coffee, nuts, rice, cotton etc, so not in
competition with UK farmers.
• There is a multitude of subsidies and trade
barriers that complicate world trade.
Wealthy, advanced nations limit trade
opportunities for poor countries whilst
handing out aid at the same time.
11. 5 FAIRTRADE TOWN GOALS
1.
Council Support
2.
Fairtrade product availability in shops & cafes
3.
Fairtrade products used - work places, schools,
churches etc.
4.
Media coverage and events
5.
Fairtrade steering group
(2013: 550+ villages, towns, cities, islands, zones, etc.)
30. MAKE FOOD FAIR
• Put small-holder farmers first
• Ensure they get a fair share of the value
chain
• Ensure they get fair access to finance
• Help them ‘future proof’ their farming
• Re-focus and better target government
funding
34. 5 FAIRTRADE SCHOOL GOALS
1. Fairtrade School Steering Group – min 50% pupils and
meet at least once a term.
2. Write and adopt a Fairtrade Policy – get the support of
the board of governors and the head teacher.
3. Use and sell Fairtrade products as much as possible.
4. Learn about Fairtrade in at least three subjects in two
year groups.
5. Take action for Fairtrade at least once a term in the
school and once a year in the community.
37. END
• Note that the Fairtrade Mark and the town
logo should only be used in accordance
with the Fairtrade Foundation guidelines.
• See www.fairtrade.org.uk resources
section for more information.
38. FAIRTRADE TIMELINE
• 1979
Traidcraft set up
• 1991
Cafédirect launched
(1st major fair trade coffee brand)
• 1992
Fairtrade Foundation created
• 1993
Fairtrade Mark launched
39. • 1994
1st Products with the Fairtrade Mark
(Green and Black’s Maya Gold chocolate,
followed by Clipper tea and Cafédirect coffee)
• 1995
Justino Peck, cocoa farmer from
Belize,
tours UK during the first Fairtrade
Fortnight.
• 1997
FLO - ‘Fairtrade Labelling
Organisations International’ Bonn
(now 21 labelling initiatives, 3 producer networks)
• 2000
1st Fairtrade bananas – Co-op
40. • 2001
- Garstang recognised as the
world’s 1st Fairtrade Town
• 2005
- Fairtrade certified cotton
launched in UK
• 2006
- Ilkley, Fairtrade Town
- Bradford, Fairtrade Zone
• 2007
- Waitrose and Sainsbury’s
100% Fairtrade bananas
41. 2010 – 4 bar KitKats
2009 Cadbury - Dairy Milk
Starbucks - espresso based
drinks
2012 - Maltesers
43. THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION
Established in 1992 by:
•
•
•
•
•
•
CAFOD
Christian Aid
New Consumer
Oxfam
Traidcraft Exchange
World Development Movement
joined shortly afterwards by
• National Federation of Women’s Institutes
44. Fairtrade means…
A fair and stable price for producers
“…we can buy pens and
notebooks so children
can go to school. We
have bought seeds and
fertiliser to grow
vegetables and improve
our family’s diet.”
Sira Souko
Cotton farmer,
Batimakana, Mali
45. Fairtrade means…
Extra income to invest in bringing about
change for the future
Farmers at Mabale Growers’
tea factory in Uganda used
some of their Fairtrade
premium to build a road for
the local community enabling
easier access to local
markets.
46. Fairtrade means…
Producers are working to protect their
environment
Coffee farmers in one cooperative in Costa Rica
are protecting the
rainforest with new coffee
driers that run on recycled
coffee bean husks and
organic material, rather
than using firewood.
47. Fairtrade means…
Small farmers have a stronger position in
world markets
“For us small producers, we are
very committed to Fairtrade. It is
our means of survival here in the
Dominican Republic. We see
Fairtrade as being part of a big
family.”
José Peralta
Banana Grower
ASOBANU, Dominican Republic
48. The FAIRTRADE Mark is the only
independent consumer guarantee of a
better deal for producers in the developing
world.
7.5 million people producers, workers
and their families currently benefit
directly as a result of
Fairtrade.
Notas del editor
Over 500 towns, villages, cities etc in the UK with Fairtrade town status. Many more working towards it.
Scheme spreading with over 1,000 Fairtrade towns round the world, including a few in developing countries.
Following slides show a few of Ilkley Fairtrade Group’s activities since it was formed.
Saturday event at the Bandstand
Town-wide quiz to win a trolley of Fairtrade goods
Front page of the Gazette in Fairtrade Fortnight
Nioka Abott - a banana farmer from the Winward Islands. She was on a Fairtrade Foundation UK producer tour and visited both Bradford and Ilkley. Theme in 2010 was ‘The Big Swap’ with a focus on tea.
Joint Ilkley Fairtrade Group and IGS community event at Christchurch on The Grove. Displays and talk. Fairtrade cotton bunting decorating for world record attempt. 2 ½ miles of bunting = 12,500 triangles. One for each of the 12,500 Fairtrade cotton farmers in Mali and Burkina Faso.
World record set.
Just a small selection of the town’s bunting.
Publicity stunt with the Fairtrade cotton bunting at The Cow and Calf rocks.
District’s bunting gathered in Bradford at the end of Fairtrade Fortnight before being sent to the Fairtrade Foundation in London for the world record attempt. Visiting cocoa farmers from Ghana toured the district to explain first hand about the difference Fairtrade makes to their lives.
Spreading the Fairtrade message. 2 cocoa farmers from Ghana also visited with Divine chocolate.
2012 Fairtrade campaign: Take a Step for Fairtrade. Locally this resulted in the creation of a new ‘Fair Trade Way’ footpath route linking the 7 Fairtrade towns and villages in the Bradford district. First Fair Trade Way created from Garstang to Keswick.
First Fair Trade Way created from Garstang to Keswick.
Three celebration events were held across Yorkshire on 18th January 2013 in Ilkley, Leeds and York.
Fairtrade breakfast event at Central Hall in Keighley. Zaytoun funded UK tour of Fairtrade olive farmer Abu Rafat and Manal Abdallah, promotion and media co-ordinator at Canaan Fair Trade who process Zaytoun’s Fairtrade olives.
Richard Dillon – founder of Keighley Fairtrade town group. Fairtrade town status applied for Sept 2013.
Give lots more suggestions. Highlight Fairtrade Foundation and other websites for more information and resources.
Once major brands get on board with Fairtrade, big changes can at last happen and more farmers benefit from the Fairtrade system.
Slide Nine: More products
Aim
This slide aims to show the huge range of Fairtrade products available – with options to suit all tastes and budgets.
Key Points
The good news is that there’s a growing range of Fairtrade products to choose from. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark.
Most people associate Fairtrade with coffee, tea, chocolate and bananas. But there are lots more exciting products – from footballs to flowers; from cotton buds to cotton pants; from cinnamon sticks to vanilla ice cream; from pineapples to honey; from orange juice to wine; from brazil nuts to rice.
Possible Questions
Which products can you name?
Can anyone guess how many different Fairtrade products are currently available?
You could also do a true and false list of products that are currently available. Visit our website for an up to date list – or get people to look at the list on the back of the current Fairtrade general leaflet.
Slide Four: A Fair and Stable Price
Aim
Using the case of cotton, this slide demonstrates the volatility of the world market price and the impact it can have when it drops.
Key Points
World market price for raw materials like coffee, tea, cotton and bananas can be very volatile. This leaves farmers incredibly vulnerable.
Because of factors beyond farmers’ control, prices can drop so low that they earn less for their product than it costs to run the farm. They may struggle to buy food, keep their children in school and ultimately may lose their land and livelihood.
For example, 100 million rural households around the world are involved in cotton production. In 2002, cotton prices fell to their lowest level for 30 years. As well as competition from synthetic fibres, one major reason for this fall in prices has been the dumping of subsidised cotton on world markets by the US, EU and China. This has had a devastating effect for cotton farmers, particularly those in West Africa.
Fairtrade operates a minimum price for cotton so that the amount that a farmer receives will be stable and never drop below this. When the market is low, this ensures farmers do not lose their livelihoods. If the market price were to rise above the Fairtrade minimum, then farmers would receive the higher price.
Sira Souko, a cotton producer in Mali, describes how getting a better price for cotton has allowed them to meet the needs of their children. She says ‘Fairtrade has put money in to the hands of women to meet our children’s needs. We can buy pens and notebooks so they can go to school. We have bought seeds and fertiliser to grow vegetables and improve our family’s diet.’
Optional Focus on Trade Justice
The case of cotton clearly highlights double standards taking place within the international trade system. While developing countries are not allowed to provide subsidies to their farmers, the US subsidises its own farmers to the extent that in 2003/04 they were receiving 70% above the world price. This leads to overproduction so that US cotton is dumped on world markets. The WTO has ruled against US cotton subsidies but despite this, the level of subsidies in fact rose in the following twelve months.
Slide Five: A Social Premium
Aim
Using the case of tea, this slide illustrates the importance of the premium that is included in the Fairtrade price.
Key Points
As well as the Fairtrade price, producer organisations receive a premium on top of this that is set aside for farmers and workers to spend on social and environmental projects in the community or to strengthen their organisations. The premium money is put into a separate account, and the farmers and workers decide together how to invest it.
Within the community the social premium might be used for securing electricity, clean water, health and education programmes or even sports grounds. Within a co-operative it might be used to diversify their production, improve quality control or purchase more effective equipment.
Investments like these allow communities to make long term improvements and work their own way out of poverty.
Decisions on how the premium is spent are taken democratically by committees of elected farmers. On larger farms with hired workers, a Joint Body of management and elected workers make these decisions.
Silver Kasoro is the chairman of the Joint Body deciding how to spend the social premium at Mabale Growers Tea Factory in Uganda. This road gave the community better access to the nearby town which gave them access to facilities and also to the local market. Community members could then diversify into new crops that could be sold at the local market.
Possible Questions
Does anyone know what the social premium is?
What types of things is it used for?
Who decides on how the social premium is used?
Slide Six: Greater Respect for the Environment
Aim
Using the case of coffee, this aims to illustrate the commitment of Fairtrade standards to protecting and improving the environment as well as how increased income from Fairtrade makes this possible.
Key Points
Farmers across the world are under pressure to increase their yields by using more chemicals, threatening human health and environmental sustainability.
Fairtrade standards aim to protect the environment and the extra income from Fairtrade makes this possible.
In the case of all products:
1) Fairtrade producers are required to dispose of waste products safely and responsibly.
2) Use of GM seeds is banned.
3) Diversification and crop rotation are encouraged to improve soil fertility.
4) Farmers are encouraged to progressively reduce use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides
In Costa Rica, the Llano Bonito Co-operative has invested in new coffee drying equipment. Gerardo Arias Camacho, a coffee farmer and member of the co-op explains that whereas the old wood fired ovens forced the farmers to cut down trees, the new environmental ovens run using the pulp from coffee cherries and macadamia nut husks and they are encouraging members of the local community to also bring in their own recyclable waste. This means fewer trees are being cut, more of the community are now recycling, and farmers are planting new trees to prevent soil erosion as well as protecting their streams and rivers. As Gerardo says, “you are helping us in developing countries to have a more dignified life, be able to protect the environment, we are protecting the whole world by protecting the lungs of the world, the forests we have there. You buy our products under Fairtrade terms, and we send you oxygen back. It’s a nice way of doing business.”.
You can read more about Gerardo on the Fairtrade Foundation’s website.
Slide Seven: A Stronger Position in World Markets
Aim
Using the case of bananas in the Dominican Republic, this aims to illustrate the ways in which Fairtrade can strengthen the position of farmers in a competitive world market.
Key Points
Thousands of families in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean make their living growing bananas on small farms.
During the 1990s, small farmers across the Caribbean have been under threat from competition from large-scale Latin America banana plantations where labour is cheaper and costs are lower. Organisations of small-scale growers have struggled to sell their bananas at a price that enables them to maintain a livelihood for their families.
Through Fairtrade farmers have been able to improve facilities to meet supermarket quality requirements and maintain market access.
Jose Peralta is the President of one co-operative, ASOBANU, in the Dominican Republic. Jose explains how Fairtrade has helped small farmers meet tough European supermarket rules for selling bananas. Jose says, “The most important thing for us to remain in the market. The requirements are many, and we are complying with them. These requirements come from overseas, and we have to comply in order to survive and so that our bananas can continue to be exported. Thanks to the Fairtrade premium, we have been able to improve the quality of our fruit, for example we have repaired many farmers’ packing houses and lots of other improvements. In my life, you know, I never thought that an organisation so important as Fairtrade could exist. For us small producers, we are very committed to Fairtrade, we hope it will continue making progress, it is our means of survival here in the Dominican Republic. We see Fairtrade as being part of a big family – Fairtrade is something we should treasure and protect.”
NB Watch the short video about Fairtrade bananas in the Dominican Republic on www.fairtrade.org.uk
This is not an isolated case. Small farmers are often at a disadvantage in international trade, having to compete with large mechanised or industrial farms.
Fairtrade encourages more direct, long-term, and stable relationships between farmers and traders. This leads to stronger producer organisations that are often more cost effective, sustainable and able to produce higher quality products.
Optional Focus on Trade Justice
Bananas have been the mainstay of the economy in the Windward Islands in the Caribbean, where farmers have faced similar struggles to those in the Dominican Republic. Britain had been favouring bananas from the Windward Islands when importing because of their historical relationship with them. International trade rules have dictated that this preferential treatment must stop. Producers now must compete with producers in Latin America and Africa that produce bananas at a lower cost largely as a result of higher chemical usage and lower wages and social benefits for workers. Banana farmers of the Windward Islands who produce bananas in a more socially and environmentally friendly manner, have therefore lost market share and at worst, have gone out of business. Fairtrade has offered a new, niche market for these farmers and has revived the banana industry.
Slide Two: The FAIRTRADE Mark
Aims
To explain what the FAIRTRADE Mark and the Fairtrade Foundation are.
Key Points
The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label awarded to products in the UK to show that they guarantee a better deal for farmers and workers in developing countries.
Fairtrade is an independent, international certification and auditing system, designed to make trade work for development. Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) is the international body that sets standards for Fairtrade products and inspects and certifies producer organisations against them. It also audits the flow of goods between Fairtrade producers and exporters and importers handling Fairtrade products.
The Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member of FLO and works with companies and licenses them to use the FAIRTRADE Mark on individual products that meet these internationally agreed Fairtrade Standards. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to reshaping trade as a development tool
More than 7.5 million people - farmers, workers and their families - in 59 countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
None of this is possible without shoppers. More and more people are choosing products with the FAIRTRADE Mark and this makes a real difference to farmers and workers in developing countries. By choosing Fairtrade we make sure producers receive a fair price and show our support for an alternative way to trade that puts justice and sustainable development at its heart.
Possible Questions
What is the Fairtrade Foundation?
What role does Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) play?
Small step, by small step – we can all make a difference. Just one product at a time.
