A child dies from poverty related causes every 2.4 seconds. This is preventable. It is another startling fact that developing countries in the South lose $100 billion per year due to an unfair trading system. That means for every $1 donated in aid, $2 is being taken from poor countries through unfair trade rules set up by the rich countries to protect their own markets. In many ways, the rich North takes from the poor South, rather than gives to it.

An Oxfam report shows that 128 million people could be lifted out of poverty if Africa, Latin America, East Asia and South Asia each increased their share of world exports by just 1%.

So what, can we, the residents of Kendal do about this?

One solution is for people to buy Fairtrade products. Products that bear the Fair Trade mark mean that farmers, growers and small-scale producers have got a better deal. If a product is part of the Fairtrade system farmers are offered a guaranteed minimum price for produce as well as ensuring improved working and environmental conditions.

‘After the cataclysmic events of September 11th, we all have both to act against terrorism wherever it rears its ugly head and, more importantly, to think creatively about how to deal with the rage that so many people feel in far flung corners of the world. Helping people to earn a stable, steady return for the hard work millions put in every day is one answer’.
George Alagiah BBC correspondent

In a county ravaged by the effects of Foot and Mouth Disease the need to look after local producers is of great relevance.

What is wrong with the present system?

· Small farmers are at the mercy of the global trading system, which is dominated by huge companies. One problem with this is that when the prices for crops such as coffee, bananas, honey and cocoa drop the small farmer is hit the worst. After the price crash in 2000/1 many farmers found it was not worth even picking their crop.

· Economic concerns: e.g. In Ecuador the plantation workers are paid $1 per day. When the workers have tried to organise unions their efforts are often met with violence.

· Environmental concerns e.g. some 20% of the male banana workers in Costa Rica have been left sterile after handling toxic chemicals.

How does Fairtrade help?

To get the Fairtrade mark it must be proved that:

• Plantation / factory workers have decent wages, housing; health and safety standards and can join a union.
• No child or forced labour exists
• There are programmes for environmental sustainability

In return farmers / producers get:

• A price that covers the cost of production.
• A social premium to be used by producers to improve their living and working conditions.
• Advance payments to avoid debt repayment problems

Case study: Chocolate from Belize.

Justino is a cocoa farmer who lives in a small cabin with his wife and three children. In 1992 the family’s security came to an end when world prices dropped by half. It was not even worth harvesting the crop and it was left to rot. Justino wished he had managed to save some money to buy food and clothes fro his family. Justino joined with other small farmers and was approached by a UK chocolate company to buy their cacao. The Fair trade mark they were awarded gave them a price well above market value and a 3-year contract. Justino now says ‘from the money we get from the cocoa we have made a concrete floor in our house to replace the dirt floor, and our children are now able to go to secondary school in Punta Gorda’.

The success of Dominican Fairtrade Banana growers is similar. Workers now have full pay for short-term sickness, double wages in December, lunch breaks and payments to attend private medical clinics if they need to. One small farmer, Alfredo comments ‘now food at least is secure. I’m earning double what I was earning’.

Independent research found ‘The major impact of Fairtrade initiatives in the coffee sector in Tanzania was judged to be the contribution to increasing the capacity of the cooperatives to understand and engage in international trade and to act as a benchmark in setting standards and providing information' (Oxford Policy management Ltd.)

A quality product?

All producers are regularly visited by experienced monitoring people, either from Europe or based locally to ensure quality standards are reached and that the Fairtrade mark means what it says.

In 2000 the Consumers Association Which? Magazine undertook a professional blind tasting of the leading coffee brands. A Fairtrade product was voted the favourite. The magazine concluded ‘considering the benefits Fairtrade products give (the extra cost) is a small price to pay’.

Fairtrade products are becoming more and more popular. In 2001 sales increased by 40% reaching a level of £46 million. According to a MORI poll of the same year one in five people now recognise the Fairtrade mark.

‘The buying power of consumers is leading to improvements in income and labour conditions for some of the poorest people in the world. Increasingly, consumers want to know that their food is produced and bought in fair, ethical and sustainable conditions. The Fairtrade mark guarantees this’.
Tony Blair

Campaigners wishing to promote the campaign for the use of Fairtrade products in Kendal and South Lakes may find the Kendal Fairtrade Town Factsheet useful. Simply click on the title to download the document.