Fairtrade
By: John Musser
With its origins and deep roots in Europe, the Fairtrade movement has developed since WWII into a meaningful avenue for small producers in developing countries to move toward economic self-sufficiency by playing a wider role in international trade. “Trade instead of Aid.”
In 2008, Fairtrade certified sales amounted to over $4 billion, a 22% year-to-year increase. The Fairtrade Labeling Organization estimates that over 7.5 million producers and their families benefit from Fairtrade-funded infrastructure, technical assistance, and community development projects.
Fairtrade is a market-based approach designed to promote sustainability and help producers in developing countries by requiring payment of higher prices to producers, including a premium for producer groups to invest in social development projects. In addition to higher prices, Fairtrade includes a variety of social and environmental standards, as well as ethical trading throughout the chain of commerce. Fairtrade focuses on exports from developing countries to developed countries for products such as coffee, bananas, mangoes and other fresh fruit, flowers, sugar, cocoa, tea, wine and other products. Fairtrade is supported by a number of international development aid, social, religious, and environmental organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, Caritas International, and many others.
Fairtrade imports are certified by national federations who coordinate, promote, and facilitate the work of Fairtrade organizations. The Fairtrade Labeling Organization International (FLO) was created in 1997 and is the largest and most widely recognized standard setting and certification body for Labeled Fairtrade. It regularly inspects and certifies producer organizations in over 50 countries.
Fairtrade importers are licensed by national FLO affiliates, such as TransfairUSA, via contracts detailing the ethical purchasing standards required to use the Fairtrade label on their products. To earn a license from TransfairUSA to use the Fairtrade certified label on their products, companies must buy from certified farms, pay Fairtrade prices, and submit to a rigorous supply chain audit, which entails a high level of transparency and traceability in their global supply chains.
In Europe, this label is used: In the United States and Canada, the following label is used:
 
TransfairUSA celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008, announcing that retail sales of Fairtrade products in the US increased 20% for the year, to an estimated $1.25 billion.
Novelle consultant John Musser initiated the Fairtrade produce industry in the US in 2004 by introducing Fairtrade organic bananas into the market while he was CEO of Jonathan’s Organic, the first Fairtrade produce licensee in the US. Subsequently Mr. Musser has developed Fairtrade programs with South African organic grapes and citrus, as well as Mexican, Peruvian, and Haitian mangoes. Mr. Musser’s company, Tropic Trade LLC is a Fairtrade licensee specializing in Fairtrade and organic Ethical fruit programs.
In 2008, Transfair USA had 862 partners offering Fairtrade labeled products across all categories. Major retailers such as Whole Foods, Sam’s Club, and Starbucks have steadily increased their commitment to Fairtrade. For more information on TransfairUSA, including the 2008 Annual Report, go to www.TransFairUSA.org.
Mr. Musser was introduced to the Fairtrade concept in 1997 when he was CEO of the Windward Island Banana Development and Export Co, Ltd based in St. Lucia. As he led the restructuring of the Windward Islands banana industry, Mr. Musser saw the importance of the Fairtrade pricing system to guarantee sustainable returns to growers. As the following case study shows http://culturalshifts.com/archives/163, the Windward Islands banana industry exists today mainly because most of their production is sold under the Fairtrade label.
With their appeal to many of the same consumers who support certified organic products, Fairtrade labeled products allow consumers to further refine their choices by allowing them to purchase double certified (Fairtrade and organic) products. By paying a small premium over non-certified products, consumers can use their food dollars to support specific environmental and ethical trading initiatives. |
