Five things you didn’t know about Fairtrade
With recent changes to the way supermarkets offer Fairtrade products, we look at how we can make ethical choices in the future
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Fair trade has actually been around since the Forties when North Americans started buying needlework from impoverished Puerto Ricans. It soon spread to the UK when Oxfam began selling crafts from Chinese refugees in its shops in 1958. By the Eighties it was a fully fledged movement complete with labelling and certification systems.
2
This standard is set by the Fairtrade International Standards Committee who consult with farmers, workers and traders to agree on the best ways Fairtrade can support the sustainable development of small producer organisations and agricultural workers. This includes setting a minimum price to cover the cost of growing the crop, as a safety net in times of low prices, though the rest of the time they receive the market rate. Companies who want their products to be marked Fairtrade must pay a Fairtrade Premium; this goes directly towards projects that benefit the local community, such as improving education for children of the workers, or for helping renovate local infrastructure.
3
There are more than 4,500 Fairtrade products in our supermarkets. Most carry the iconic black, green and blue Fairtrade stamp which means it’s either 100 per cent Fairtrade, or all the ingredients within it come from Fairtrade sources – for example, all of a cake’s ingredients that come from developing countries (sugar, cocoa, honey, vanilla, etc) must all be Fairtrade.
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One in three bananas bought in the UK are Fairtrade. The idea is to ensure all producers get a decent price and that workers on larger plantations are paid decent wages for the hard labour that goes into growing our favourite fruit.
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Sainsbury’s is planning to remove the Fairtrade certification in favour of its own Fairly Traded range. But there’s been a backlash from consumers and Fairtrade champions questioning how these products will be regulated when they are not monitored by an independent body such as The Fairtrade Foundation. Sainsbury’s argues the new scheme will benefit farmers and include a Minimum Price Guarantee. It’s not the first one to make such a move: Cadburys, Unilever, PG Tips and Liptons have also introduced their own sustainability schemes but some critics are concerned this means unclear standards and even more confusion for customers. what do you think? write to us at the address on page 3