Good intentions don't change things, good business does!
Whether it's in the high, misty tea gardens in Sri Lanka, the green hills where coffee grows in Chiapas, Mexico or the red-earthed cocoa farms in Ghana, Fairtrade certification is providing growers with clean water, education, health care and a better quality of life for their communities.
What is FAIRTRADE?
The Fairtrade Labeling Organization International (FLO) is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder association involving 23 member organizations, traders and external experts. The organization develops and reviews Fairtrade standards and provides support to Fairtrade Certified producers by assisting them in gaining and maintaining Fairtrade certification. The FAIRTRADE label is the ONLY independent guarantee of a fair deal for farmers and workers in the developing world and is governed by Five Guarantees.
The Five Guarantees are:
1. The FAIRTRADE Label guarantees farmers a fair and stable price for their products.
2. The FAIRTRADE Label guarantees extra income for farmers and estate workers to improve their lives.
3. The FAIRTRADE Label guarantees a greater respect for the environment.
4. The FAIRTRADE Label guarantees small farmers a stronger position in world markets.
5. The FAIRTRADE Label guarantees a closer link between consumers and producers. |
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Unlike other “certifications”, FAIRTRADE-certified products must meet 100% of the FAIRTRADE standards and economic benefits must be passed on to the farmers and workers.
Why FAIRTRADE?
"It is thanks to the consumers' final choice at the supermarkets that we can now develop a water scheme to reach the most remote farmers in our cooperative and have seats at the schools our children attend." - Karena Aathi, SOFA
Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.
The FAIRTRADE certification ensures fair trading practices by setting standards for each product, including common principles such as no child labour, a minimum wage that ensures a decent quality of life, minimum health and safety standards and democratic decision making policies within the growing communities. Fairtrade also aims for long term trading arrangements, credit extension to avoid debt and consumer awareness of the need for trade to be made fair.
Most importantly, Fairtrade teaches people to fend for themselves - giving those who grow tea, coffee, cocoa and other tropical crops in developing countries the ability and means to dictate their own futures. Fairtrade brings balance to the global playing field.
Scarborough Fair makes Fairtrade-certified products easy to find and affordable by selling our tea, coffee and chocolate in mainstream supermarkets. By understanding the supply chain, dealing as directly as possible with growers and using economies of scale to decrease the costs of bringing product to market, Scarborough Fair uses good business sense so that everyone can be a part of making things better.
Support Fairtrade. Only products carrying this logo are certified fairtrade
Links
http://www.fairtrade.net/
Located in Bonn, Germany, the Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) monitors certified producers and regulates the use of this logo.
http://www.fta.org.nz/
http://www.fta.org.au/
The Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand (FTAANZ) certify and monitor the trading practices of importers, manufacturers and distributors so that the entire supply chain is transparent.
Quotes
In Ghana, the cocoa farmers say, "We do not want to be given fish, we want to learn to fish!"
The people at the Indulgashinna plantation in Sri Lanka - where Scarborough Fair tea is sourced - recently celebrated their first university entrants!