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Fair Trade: Good Business Sense

Every day we buy things without knowing where they come from or who made them, and often the original producer or grower is not benefiting directly from our purchase.

In the UK, ethical - or fair trade - is changing the way Britons shop. With over 100 fair trade products available in the UK - ranging from coffee to tea, to bananas, mangos, honeyand chocolate - the annual fair trade retail value hit a record £63 million in 2002, nearly twice its level in 2000, and is still growing as an industry.

Fair trade in the UK dates back to the 1950’s, when Oxfam UK started to sell crafts made by Chinese refugees in Oxfam shops, making the UK a leader in fairly traded products. In 1964 the first Fair Trade Organization was created in the UK. In the late 1980’s farmers in Mexico petitioned the Dutch government to sell their coffee fairly. Other European countries followed the example set by the Dutch and the term "fairtrade UK" was made official in 1994.

Fair trade means that producers have a direct link to the market, cutting out the middleman. According to the Federation for Alternative Trade, “ Fair trade organizations are engaged actively in supporting producers and campaigning for changes in the rules and practices of conventional international trade.”

Café Direct

Café Direct is the largest beverage fair trade company in the UK. They trade with 11 organizations in 33 countries. By working directly with growers they ensure that the consumer is getting a superior product and that the grower is receiving a fair price for their product.

Founded in 1991 by Oxfam, Twin Trading, Traidcraft and Equal Exchange, Café Direct’s mandate is to strengthen the influence of the coffee growers in the south by linking them directly to the consumer market in the west.

They are the fist fair trade company to gain entry in to the big supermarkets in the UK. Since 1994, their brand of instant coffee, coffee, tea and hot chocolate bears the fairtrade logo, guaranteeing a better deal for third world producers. Their Gold Standard products guarantee that the price paid to growers is higher than the world market price and a producer support and development programme is in place to train and educate farmers so that they can compete in the world market.

A New Market

Over 145 million cups of fair trade coffee were consumed in the UK in 2003, and retail sales of fair trade have grown by 91% to a value of over £100 million since then.

The growers who supply Café Direct are always paid a guaranteed price above market rates and Café Direct re-invests into their business. In return they offer the pick of their crop, and customers can then enjoy premium coffees, teas and chocolate drinks. It's a system that's based on respect for the effort and skill of the producers.

In the UK many large companies are making Café Direct their choice of coffee and tea in the workplace. Virgin, the BBC, the Body Shop and the House of Commons - the list is getting bigger each year.

If you live in the UK and are interested in having Café Direct products in your workplace simply go to http://www.cafedirect.co.uk/

If you live outside the UK and are interested in buying fairly traded products all you have to do is read labels. Fairly traded coffee or tea will usually have a label on the front of the package declaring that it was fairly traded. There is also an online newsletter http://www.forachange.co.uk/ that outlines global current practices in fair trade.

By Melissa Montgomery

© Copyright 2005. Galt Western Personnel Ltd. Unless otherwise specified, you may reprint this article, quote from it, use it in research or projects, duplicate it or distribute it. Credit of authorship and source MUST be given to galtglobalreview.com. Ownership of Copyright remains with Galt Western Personnel Ltd.

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