Why the FAIRTRADE Mark?

Millions of landless labourers and small farmers are denied what should be their right:

• Enough to feed their families

• Send their children to school

• And a little extra to invest in sustainable development.

Clearly, the advantages of international trade are not visible to all people in the world. For small farmers, access to market or price information is difficult and, as a result, many small farmers become increasingly dependent on middlemen. In bad times, many lose their only asset: their land and, thus, their livelihoods. Similarly, many plantation workers do not see the benefits of increasing world trade. Many endure low pay, an unsafe working environment and poor living conditions. Too often they lack the freedom to join a trade union to defend their rights and the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their lives on the plantation.

The Fairtrade Foundation

The Fairtrade Foundation exists to improve the position of poor and marginalized producers in the developing world. The Fairtrade Foundation encourages U.K. industry and consumers to support fairer trade and to purchase Fairtrade products. Products that carry the FAIRTRADE Mark, the only independent consumer guarantee, ensure that producers in the developing world get a better deal.

  "We don't need charity, we are not beggars. If we are paid a reasonable price for our coffee, then we can do without charity"

- Isaias Martmez, UCIRI, Mexico FAIRTRADE Mark foods

Currently, more than 130 coffee, tea, fresh fruit, chocolate, cocoa, juice, sugar and honey products carry the FAIRTRADE Mark (top right). Fairtrade coffee, tea and other products are also offered by more than 25 catering suppliers nationwide.

Fairtrade Standards

The problems experienced by poor producers and workers in developing countries differ greatly from product to product. The majority of coffee and cocoa, for example, is grown by independent small farmers working their own land and marketing their produce through a local co-operative. For these producers, receiving a fair price for their beans is more important than any other aspect of a fair trade. Most tea, however, is grown on estates. The concerns for workers employed on tea plantations are fair wages and decent working conditions.

To address this there are two sets of generic producer standards; one for small farmers and one for workers on plantations and in processing factories. The first set applies to smallholders organised in co-operatives or other organisations with a democratic, participative structure. The second set applies to organised workers, whose employers pay decent wages, guarantee the right to join trade unions and provide good housing, where relevant. On plantations and in factories, minimum health and safety as well as environmental standards must be complied with, and no child or forced labour can occur.

As Fairtrade is also about development, the generic standards distinguish between minimum requirements which producers must meet to be certified Fairtrade. Process requirements also encourage producer organisations to continuously improve working conditions and product quality, to increase the environmental sustainability of their activities and to invest in the development of their organisations and the welfare of their producers/workers.

Trading standards stipulate that traders must:

• Pay a price to producers that covers the costs of sustainable production and living;

• Pay a premium that producers can invest in development;

• Make partial advance payments when requested by producers;

• Sign contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices.

Monitoring

The Fairtrade Foundation, with its international partners, checks that approved products continue to meet these criteria.