Fair Trade Fortnight (Monday 25th February to Friday 9th March)
Doug Naysmith recently met Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, to discuss the UK’s position on fair trade and trade justice. Doug has written to all the people who have contacted him about trade justice in the past to update them on the progress and to let them know that the Government is currently consulting on its fair trade policy. If you would like to let him know your views, he will pass them on to Douglas Alexander.
Doug says,”We have campaigned together to pressure international governments to secure better trade rules that will allow the world’s poorest countries to help grow their economies and reduce poverty. As I am sure you know, Fair Trade sales are becoming increasingly popular. Every 2 years for the last eight, UK shoppers have doubled the amount of Fair Trade goods they buy. Fair trade sales in the UK have been growing on average at 40 per cent, per year. The total value of fair trade products sold in the UK in 2006 was £284 million, up from £196 million in 2005, and a growth of over 1,000 per cent since 1998. This directly benefits over 7 million farmers, workers and their families in developing countries. The areas of particular growth were: cocoa (93%), coffee (53%), tea (41%), bananas (31%) and cotton (doubled in 1 year).
“No country has reduced poverty in the last 30 years without also increasing trade. This is why the government has led international efforts to secure fairer trade rules. As part of this the government has committed significant resources: £12 million on Fair Trade promotion since 1997 and $750 million every year from 2010 on Aid for Trade (which helps promote developing countries’ ability to trade by investing in relevant infrastructure, among other things).
“But there is more that we can do as consumers. We are trying to get people to take three simple steps to help grow the fair trade market and deliver benefits to some of the world’s poorest countries. I am sure you do most of them already. They are:
• where possible, buy products from developing countries.
• if there is no clear labelling then ask the retailer where the product has come from and ask that they provide this information more clearly in the future.
• ask about the working conditions of those who produced the goods.
“By ensuring that retailers are aware that there are a significant number of concerned shoppers, we can help deliver real benefits to developing countries. In Africa, for example, fruit and vegetable exports to the UK benefit a million farmers and their families. By shopping for development we can help provide a vital route out of poverty for many in the world’s poorest country. “
