Trading fair

How we shop here can make a real difference to the lives of women in developing countries.
Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, once said, “If trade undermines life, narrows it, impoverishes it, then it can destroy the world. If it enhances life, it can change the world”. The reality is that we are all too often bombarded with images of women in developing countries struggling with daily life, and many of us feel helpless to be able to make a difference. But there are New Zealand businesswomen who are helping these women to shape a new reality. They are providing a foundation for women in developing countries to work their way towards a brighter future for themselves, their families and their communities.
The sad truth is that conventional or traditional trade, which dominates markets worldwide, can discriminate against the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world. The even sadder truth is that, more often than not, these are women and children. Enter fair trade: a concept creating sustainable business opportunities for these women where they can produce local and traditional goods to sell in the global market place at a just and fair price. And business is booming.
A global movement
According to the North American Fair trade Federation, around 7.5 million individuals benefited directly from Fair Trade Certified production in 2008. In the same period in New Zealand, the fair trade market grew by 69 percent. Now fair trade products are being stocked in our supermarket shelves, advertised on TV and being offered to us in our work places. But this still only represents a tiny proportion of global consumer product sales.
Fair trade is a global phenomenon focused on providing better prices, better working conditions and sustainable businesses for workers in the developing world. The goal is to improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged producers. In this way, women’s position and control over their own lives and the future for their family can be improved.
There are all too many examples of where the benefits of international aid has not been realised and has failed to reach the people for which it was intended. Essentially, fair trade is about creating a fair and just economic marketplace for the producers of goods, which has a very real impact on the ground. It is about sustainable business, not just a one off cash injection, but also achieving long-term social justice.
Impacting the whole community
Maria Trogolo, policy and producer relations manager at the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand (Fairtrade ANZ), helps facilitate those relationships with producers and buyers. Maria explains, “Fair trade seeks to transform trading structures and practices in favour of the poor and disadvantaged; it’s not about aid but about empowerment and sustainable trade.”
This approach to developing sustainable businesses has given New Zealand women the opportunity to directly impact on more disadvantaged women’s lives and help support them to find a sustainable business pathway. Often, a greater change is seen in communities when the women are empowered as they will tend to spend more of the money on their families, communities and education.
Groups of producers who are involved in fair trade certainly receive financial benefits from the concept, but there are also a whole range of other benefits. Fair trade can provide a security of income to a group or community that would often be impossible for them to otherwise realise. Additionally, investment in local infrastructure and an ability to put in place more environmentally friendly farming practices often accompanies a fair trade production. As producers gain access to a more sustainable living, confidence and empowerment increases, as well as protection and enhancement of traditional cultural practices.
Mainstreaming fair trade
Fair trade is driven by choices a consumer makes, but it is supported by many committed organisations and companies. Through demonstrating alternatives to conventional trade and other forms of advocacy, Fairtrade ANZ and their buyers empower people to campaign for an international trade system based on justice and fairness.
The fair trade certification system really is unique. As Marina describes, “It defines minimum prices to cover the cost of sustainable production for farmers’ crops and it establishes premiums to be paid to the farmers’ associations to invest in community development.” In addition, to assess compliance with the fair trade social, environmental and economic standards, everyone in the supply chain is independently audited by a third party.
There are currently 51 companies certified by Fairtrade ANZ to sell fair trade products. One of the best known is Scarborough Fair, who is a true market leader in this field. Launched on to the New Zealand market in 2004, their products are 100 percent fair trade certified and they have appeared on our supermarket shelves ever since. They decided that a mainstream approach was needed, as fair trade products are often seen as a luxury choice at a premium price.
We all have great intentions of buying from fair trade shops, but many of us never quite get around to it. Changing our perceptions and bring fair trade in to our daily lives will be of far more benefit to the growers in the long term. As they say at Scarborough Fair; “Good intentions don’t change things, good business does.”
Make your dollar count
Maria sees firsthand the real difference fair trade makes for women in developing countries. “It is very humbling and inspiring to spend days in ‘the bush’ with them and understand how the smallest changes in our shopping behaviour may have an enormous impact on their daily lives,” says Maria. The truly wonderful thing about fair trade is that not only can you purchase wonderful tasting and beautifully handcrafted products at a reasonable price but also you can have a significant impact on a whole community.
Fair trade can mean many benefits for many people. For the producer, it can make the different between a subsistence existence and a sustainable, secure life for the whole community. For the retail business, it can mean a unique trade, offering goods made from socially and environmentally-friendly methods and materials. And for the consumer, fair trade provides the opportunity to purchase high quality products that you know have helped improve someone’s life. One of the greatest benefits of buying fair trade is that the women producing the crafts are being supported to continue their crafts and traditions that are absolutely essential to their own culture. So, next time you are in the supermarket and your hand hovers over those fair trade products, think about the women and families you will be empowering through your choice.
Tips for playing your part
• Next time you are at your local shop, choose to buy Fair Trade Certified products and tell your friends to do the same.
• If you are in the retail business, then have a look at the options for selling Fair Trade Certified wares.
• You can volunteer to coach fair trade farmers and workers on business management and other areas in your field of expertise.
• Create a fair trade work place at your businesses or suggest it to your management.
• You can become a member of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand and have access to fair trade networks and play a part in the future direction of fair trade in this country.
Lucy Brake