7.5.2 Fair Trade
One critical aspect of the
current global crisis is the plight of small producers, particularly those
operating in agrarian sectors. The extent of the problem is perhaps most
dramatically illustrated by the recent waves of suicides among cotton farmers
in India, in which thousands of farmers have taken their own lives.1 One
initiative that seeks to address the situation of small agricultural producers
is the certified Fair Trade (FT) network. Initially purporting to offer an
alternative form of trade relations, FT certification offered members of small
producer organization higher prices for their produce than available at the
world market, as well as providing several other benefits (e.g., advanced
payments, a social premium for community development projects, technical
assistance, long-term contracts, etc.).
Mukherjee, Reed [see reference 16]
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http://www.universitasforum.org/index.php/ojs/article/view/19/85
Max Havelaar (Netherlands)
is acknowledged as launching the first Fairtrade consumer guarantee in 1986 on
coffee from Mexico. Subsequently, the number of organisations included in the
Fairtrade Foundation number some nineteen, running the international standard
and setting up and maintaining the Fairtrade Labelling Organisations
International (FLO). Labelling initiatives include many items such as tea,
coffee etc. Producers registering with FLO receive a minimum price which covers
production costs and an extra premium to be invested in the local community.
Members of the FLO Board include four producer representatives two commercial
partners and national Fairtrade initiative representatives. By September 2004
there were 422 Fairtrade certified producers operating in 49 countries.
Hundreds of Fairtrade registered importers and retailers operate in 19
countries. Sales across the 18 countries that license the Fairtrade market are
growing at about 20% year on year. In most of these countries, Fairtrade
products are now mainstream items and available in major supermarkets and
independent retailers and are beginning to gain market shares.
OpenLearn [see reference 17]
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