The livelihoods of thousands of Caribbean banana
growers who traditionally supply the UK market are in the balance
following the short-sighted and inconclusive EU trade reforms. Despite
pressure from stakeholders and campaigners, the quotas controlling
import volumes of mainly Latin American bananas coming into the EU have
been eliminated. A single tariff has been introduced at a level that
will price the Caribbean growers out of the market, leaving Fairtrade as
their only realistic hope for survival. Meanwhile, the current
supermarket price war has seen the retail price of conventional bananas
slashed to an all-time low.
Use your consumer power to send a message to
supermarkets that you want to ensure a safe environment and fair return
for banana growers. Now more than ever, it is important to buy Fairtrade
certified bananas, now available in all major supermarkets and many
independent grocers.
FAIRTRADE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
True or False?
‘Most Fairtrade products are transported by air?’
False Fresh flowers are the only Fairtrade product to be
routinely transported by air as they must be in stores quickly to ensure their
freshness. Most Fairtrade certified products are shipped not flown – per mile,
international shipping is less carbon intensive than trucking within the UK.
‘Food miles are the biggest element of a product’s
carbon footprint’. False Transportation is usually a small proportion of the
overall carbon footprint of a product. The carbon footprint includes the method
of growing and production, how and where it is sold, the customer journey, the
packaging, consumption and final disposal. Airfreight is 0.1% of total UK carbon
emissions, and transportation of Fairtrade products in 2005 was estimated to be
just 0.03% of UK food mile emissions.
‘Buying locally is always better for the environment.’ False. Whilst buying in season from sustainable local producers
can be a very positive way of reducing impact on the climate, it’s important to
consider not just where a product comes from, but how it has been produced,
including use of land, chemicals, hothouses or natural resources. Research has
found that a flower grown in Kenya and flown to the UK emits five times less
carbon than one that has been industrially hot housed in the Netherlands. Many
everyday items such as sugar-cane, cotton, bananas, cocoa, coffee and tea are
grown in tropical climates of developing countries with minimal use of
carbon-producing energy.
‘Buying Fairtrade products can help to tackle climate
change.' True Buying products from developing countries is vital for
their economic and social development and provides a livelihood for millions of
farmers and workers. With premiums from Fairtrade, farmers can implement
environmental protection programmes that will benefit all of us. Coffee farmers
in Costa Rica have invested in replanting native trees to prevent soil erosion
and have purchased environmentally friendly ovens that are fuelled by recycled
coffee hulls and dried shells of macadamia nuts.
In India, tea farmers have invested part of the
Fairtrade premium in a solar panelled heating system for the local health
centre, replacing the wood burning one. On another Fairtrade certified tea
estate, workers have created their own communal compost heap which all families
maintain and which the estate purchases as organic fertilizer for the tea
bushes.
A Little Goes a Long Way
The FAIRTRADE Mark,
denoting fairly traded goods, is now becoming increasingly well known around the
world. Harriet Lamb, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation describes how
fairtrade is helping farmers in developing countries get a fair price for their
produce.
In the UK the National Federation
of Women's Institutes is a key member and every time WI member Mary Ellen
Jones does her weekly shop in Wales she makes a difference to the lives of
women thousands of miles away.
This is because Mary Ellen buys foods bearing the
FAIRTRADE Mark. You may have seen it yourself - an increasing number of
foods, from bananas and oranges to chocolate, teas and coffees, are sporting
the symbol that stands for a better deal for farmers in the developing world.
'When I buy Fairtrade I know that the people who
produce the products are getting a fair price,' said Mary Ellen. 'So
many farmers don't even get enough to cover their costs. But with
Fairtrade I know that they and their families are being treated decently.'
Fairtrade foods first hit Britain's shop shelves just ten years ago.
Since then, sales have grown fast - thanks to more and more women like Mary
Ellen buying Fairtrade, and telling their friends about it, and to countless
WI groups holding special Fairtrade sessions.
And it is not just in the UK that Fairtrade is
catching on. Women shopping in the USA, Canada and right across Europe
are also putting foods with the FAIRTRADE Mark into their shopping baskets.
But the stories behind the sales graphs are even more
compelling. Sivapackiam Muthusamy is a picker on Stockholm tea estate in
Sri Lanka, which is a registered Fairtrade supplier. 'Before we were
very afraid to talk to the manager - especially we women,' she
explains. 'We'd run into the fields when a manager was coming.'
Sivapackiam is no longer so shy. Now she is a
vocal member of the Fairtrade Joint Body, sitting with fellow workers and
management to decide how to use the extra money generated through
Fairtrade. One priority was getting electricity installed. She
explains: 'A year ago, we didn't have any electricity in our
houses. All the members of the Joint Body got together and discussed how
we could pay to install it. Some money came from the Fairtrade premium
and we each took out a loan. With electricity, my children can study at
night. In the morning I can iron their clothes and we can use a hot
plate for cooking. I am happy that Fairtrade helps me support my
family.'
It is an experience shared by many women in
Fairtrade. On the other side of the world, Blanca Rosa Molina farms
coffee in Nicaragua. She explains how on the normal coffee market prices
reached a 30-year low last year and thousands were forced out of work, many
surviving only on food donations. But Blanca's Fairtrade-registered
organisation received a guaranteed $1.26 per lb compared to the current market
price of just 65 cents.
She says: 'The Fairtrade price enabled me to
raise my children, send my daughter to university and build my house bit by
bit.'
Electricity, ironing, education, home improvements -
the kind of things that we take for granted, just like our weekly trip to the
shops. But Sivapackiam and Blanca Rosa don't take them for granted and
nor does Mary Ellen. They all know the difference that buying Fairtrade
can make. 'A little can go a long way,' said Mary Ellen.
Fairtrade foods first hit Britain's shop shelves just ten years ago.
Since then, sales have grown fast - thanks to more and more women like Mary
Ellen buying Fairtrade, and telling their friends about it, and to countless
WI groups holding special Fairtrade sessions.