What is Fairtrade?

by Natashia Fox, Green Life Store
 
The Fair Trade Certified standards work to ensure farmers and farm workers in developing nations receive fair compensation and healthy conditions for their product. Products must be grown by small-scale producers democratically organized in either cooperatives or unions. Certified organizations are also encouraged to help the community with social development efforts such as education and healthcare. You'll find this label on widely consumed, and historically exploited, items such as coffee, tea and herbs, cocoa and chocolate, bananas, flowers, sugar, and rice.

TransFair USA, the official U.S. certifier and member of the Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International, explains, "Fair Trade Certification empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace."

Some consumers are skeptical of Fair Trade practices voicing concern over high prices, potential food miles, overproduction of certain crops, and the farmer's dependence on hand-outs. Yet Ian Bretman of Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) argues that, contrary to the free trade argument, fair trade agreements don't trap farmers by subsidizing unprofitable production; they help farmers invest in improving quality and diversifying into other crops.

Fair Trade in Africa : THE FAIRTRADE LABEL

The FAIRTRADE Label is now the most widely recognised and trusted ethical label in the world. When a product carries the FAIRTRADE Label, it means that both producers and traders have met Fairtrade Standards and that they are audited annually to ensure compliance.
The graphic symbol inside the Fairtrade Mark shows a person with a raised arm representing the optimism of producers. The blue sky of potential is connected to the green of growth.

Fairtrade wines

South Africa produces some of the finest wines in the world and contributes up to 4% of the international wine production. Over 100.000 hectares are planted with vines for wine production and over 900 million litres are produced every year by local wineries, this equals more than 1,2 billion wine bottles.

South Africa hosts the first ever Fairtrade wine operation in the world - Thandi Wines - which achieved Fairtrade certification in 2003. Since then wine has become one of the most important Fairtrade products in South Africa: we currently have 16 Fairtrade certified wine grape producer organisations and over 39 companies involved in Fairtrade wine-making and trading (March 2012). In 2010, over 17 million bottles of Fairtrade wine were drunk globally and two thirds of those were from South African farms. Wine contributes significantly to the growth of the South African Fairtrade movement: half of the estimated ZAR 18,4 million spent on Fairtrade products in South Africa during 2010 was generated by locally produced Fairtrade wines. South Africans will be happy to know that for every Fairtrade labelled bottle they buy, 50 cents goes back to the farm workers to use for social and economic investments. These investments are made into various projects; some of which include funding of education and training programmes for the workers and their families or the improvement of services and infrastructures (read more about how the Fairtrade Premium changed these people's lives here). Fairtrade certification also ensures that the wine is produced sustainably in accordance with Fairtrade Standards and that full traceability is in place.

Fairtrade wines available in South Africa:
RHYTHMS OF NATURE
Traded by: Deetlefs Winery

SIX HATS
Traded by: Citrusdal Wines

Fairtrade coffees

Coffee is one of the most valuable primary products in world trade (it is the second most traded commodity after oil!!) and its cultivation, processing and trading provide employment for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Coffee production and export is also crucial to the economies of several countries in the South, where the cultivation of coffee usually accounts for the majority of foreign exchange earnings.

The global market for coffee has been often characterised by extreme price volatility and over-production, which exacerbated in a real coffee crisis at the beginning of 2000s. Almost overnight, world coffee prices fell to an extreme low of US$45 cents/pound, which brought thousands of small farmers in Africa, Asia and Central/Latin America to lose their livelihoods.

Fairtrade's response to the unpredictable coffee market is to provide a security net that allows producers, usually small farmers organised in cooperatives, to receive a fair price that covers their costs of living and sustainable production - US$1,35/pound. A Fairtrade Premium of US$0,20/pound is added to the price and is used for social and economic investments that the small farmers find necessary for their business and their communities. 25% of the Premium must be spend in productivity and quality improvements.


Fairtrade coffees available in South Africa:

BEAN THERE
By: Bean There Coffee Company
Organic: yes
Available at: selected Pick n Pays, online, and in Bean There coffee shops

WOOLWORTHS COFFEE
By: Woolworths
Organic: yes
Available at: all W Cafes in South Africa

Fairtrade Chocolate

Cocoa is one of the fastest growing products in the Fairtrade market. Global Fairtrade cocoa sales doubled to an estimated 30.000 tonnes in 2010, driven by growth in international markets where more than 120 companies now sell over 500 Fairtrade chocolate confectionery products.
Around 85.000 farmers from 62 producer organisations in 16 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America benefit from supplying Fairtrade cocoa. For small-scale farmers' organisation, Fairtrade offers a stable Minimum Price that covers costs of production and allows planning for the future, access to credit, and an additional Premium to invest in business improvements such as quality control programmes and in community projects such as clinics, schools and clean water. Fairtrade environmental standards promote sound agricultural practices focusing on minimised and safe use of agrochemicals, responsible waste management, maintenance of soil fertility, protection of water resources, and no use of genetically modified organisms.

Fairtrade chocolate available in South Africa:

CADBURY DAIRY MILK [plain chocolate]
Traded by: Kraft Foods South Africa
Organic: no
Available at: everywhere!

Fairtrade Food

Fairtrade certification is open to a wide range of agricultural commodities, which goes beyond coffee, tea and wine. Producing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America supply the world with Fairtrade fruits, vegetables, honey, nuts, rice, sugar, herbs and spices - many of them are still not available in South Africa, but we are working to expand the offer of Fairtrade labelled food products.
Fairtrade food products available in South Africa:

FAIR TRADE ORIGINAL GRINDERS
Traded by: Turqle Trading
Available at: Woolworths