Fair Trade this Christmas?
Posted on Sunday 16th December, 2007
A number of years ago, development agencies recognized the important role that consumers could play to improve the situation for producers. By buying direct from farmers at better prices, helping to strengthen their organizations and marketing their produce directly through their own one world shops and catalogues, the charities offered consumers the opportunity to buy products which were bought on the basis of a fair trade. Fairtrade labeling was created in the Netherlands in the late 1980s. The Max Havelaar Foundation launched the first Fairtrade consumer guarantee label in 1988 on coffee sourced from Mexico. Today Fairtrade labeling is found in 20 countries including Denmark.
Buying a product is a bit like eating a sausage – easy to enjoy, until you know what’s gone into making it. We need to see what goes before and after our purchases: the producers, and the impact of our consumption. We spend a lot of money at Christmas: could we be spending it better? The Fairtrade Foundation was established in 1992 by CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam, Traidcraft and the World Development Movement. These founding organizations were later joined by Britain’s largest women’s organisation, the Women’s Institute. The first Fairtrade certified product, Green & Black’s Fairtrade Maya Gold chocolate was launched in 1994 and was shortly followed by Cafedirect Fairtrade Coffee and Clipper Fairtrade Tea.
Christians have a strong belief in justice and wish to see the end of poverty and exploitation. For this reason the Archbishop of Canterbury recently said that “If William Wilberforce was alive today, campaigning for Fair Trade and Trade Justice would be at the top of his agenda”.
Why not think about buying more Fairtrade products this Christmas? What about Fairtrade presents for your friends or Fairtrade cards? Or a New Year’s resolution to be more supportive of Fairtrade in the new year? There are Fairtrade shops in Copenhagen and some stores sell Fairtrade projects. If you want to know more or are unsure as to what it’s all about, what about dedicating an hour to read up on the issues? There are many stories that reveal the difference that fair trade has made to people’s lives. The following may help you to explore them:
Related Links
- http://www.fairtrade.org.uk
- http://www.fairtrade.dk
- http://www.traidcraft.co.uk
- http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmintdev/356/356i.pdf (a recent British Parliamentary report on fair trade)
Back to news listing
