Ghent a Fairtrade Town?

A Fairtrade Town is a community in which local government and organizations cooperate to heighten people’s awareness of the problems concerning trade in/with developing countries and to make them realize they can help. In other words, the concept is a marketing tool to increase the sales of Fairtrade certified goods.
The idea originates from Garstang, England: in 2000 this little town declared itself the ‘the Worlds first Fairtrade Town’ in order to promote Fairtrade products. The initiative gained a lot of attention and soon the FLO International launched five criteria that must be met by communities that want to be awarded this status. So far more than 600 towns have followed Garstangs example, one of them being Ghent. As if we weren’t proud enough of our university town!

Anesa Selimovic

The other side of the coin

When buying Fairtrade certified goods, people believe to be supporting small farmers because they trust the organization. Critics question Fairtrades method and achievements and make some serious objections.

For example: the minimum prices that Fairtrade guarantees, encourage market oversupply and thereby lead to even lower global prices. This increases the farmers’ dependence on the organization and makes unprotected farmers even poorer.
Another issue is the defective transfer of wealth between the west and the developing countries: the farmers only receive about 5% of Fairtrades earnings.

No one says that Fairtrade should disappear, but above mentioned problems (and many more) should be looked at in order to make it a really fair organization that accomplishes the things it promises.

Anesa Selimovic

Kit Kat helps Ivory Coast

Subsequent to Eveliens blog, I can inform you that Kit Kat bars in Ireland and the U.K. will undoubtedly carry a Fairtrade mark from next month. This commitment will mean a major breakthrough for cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire.

The farmers’ organizations will receive a fair price (or market price if higher) for their cocoa as well as a premium payment, meant for investments in business or social development projects.

As the amounts of cocoa needed to produce a Kit Kat bar are significant and with Kit Kat being the UK’s best-selling chocolate biscuit bar, the fair trade Kit Kat will have a great impact on many lives.

Anesa Selimovic

Source: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/december_2009/kit_kat_gives_cocoa_farmers_in_cte_divoire_a_break.aspx

Max Havelaar

In nearly every shop in Belgium you can find Max Havelaar-products, but what does this mean?

Max Havelaar is an independent organization behind the Fair Trade Mark which works in 58 countries in 3 different countries and it has an lot of succes in the North. It distributes 10.000 products from more than 800 registered traders. M.H. gives businesses in the Netherlands the M-H-certification and companies are willing to recieve it because all the companies who have already recieved this label saw their turnover rising increasingly.

Pieter-Jan Smet

Source:www.maxhavelaar.nl

The body shop

The body shop is well known for his ethical standarts and cruelty-free tested cosmetic products. In November they started a campaign with the first fair-trade perfume in the world: LOVE ETC...

Every ingredient, from perfume oils to alcohol is fair-traded. The famous perfumer Dominique Popion created this exclusive sense with white musk and the warmth of vanilla notes.
This perfume appeals to women for whom justice and fairness are the most important things in the world. The alcohol used in this perfume is made in the foothills of the Andes and the bottle is 100% recyclable. Maybe a nice idea for under yout Christmas-tree?

Pieter-Jan Smet

Source: www.styletoday.nl

Fair trade in tourism South Africa

Imagine a kind of tourism which is in harmony with the ethical standards for people and planet...

Fair Trade in Tourism is about ensuring people whose land is used for this activity, actually benefit from tourism and get a right price for their labor.

The FFTSA-label is already given to 26 companies in South-Africa with this green profile. The local government started this label in 1994 and since then, the country is the largest exporter of Fair Trade Products in the world. But more important, the value of tourism has been rising significantly with 150% in the GDP. Every company can get certified if they obey on 2 qualifications: to respect human rights and give them a coherent payment.

Pieter-Jan Smet
Source: www.fairtourismsa.org.za

Fair trade versus the banana price war

The FLO (fair trade labelling organization) is raising the fair trade minimum price for bananas by 21.2%. The FLO says that this is necessary, because they want to protect their producers.
The banana producers have to struggle against the rising cost of production and the banana price war. The current banana price war is pushing the farmers into deeper poverty by selling bananas below production cost. In October, a UK discounter even cut the banana prices to £0.38/kg!
The fair trade standards don’t only make the farmers better, they also guarantee the quality of the product.
With this price increase, FLO is asking the governments to undertake steps to end the price war, so the farmers can live a better life.

Evelien Rooman
source: www.fairtrade.net