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50 years after the publication of 'James and the Giant Peach', the works of Roald Dahl continue to celebrate success.
There were 300 million Fairtrade sales last year, and an estimated 1 million farmers and workers are directly involved in fair trade, which means that about 1 million people are benefiting from better terms of trade and decent production conditions.
But why now? What has caused the change in fortune for fair trade, making it a such a phenomenon in the UK?
On Wednesday, the York Union hosted a talk by Ian Bretman, Deputy Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. Bretman, who has been with the Foundation for 11 years, says its success is, quite simply, down to 'people power':
“Fair trade is a people’s movement. I think we’re seeing a backlash to frenetic consumerism, the kind of consumerism that I see in my kids! Most people realise now that it doesn’t make you happy in the long term.”
At York, the university has worked with YUSU to create a proactive Fairtrade policy, in which Fairtrade goods are supplied across campus. These goods include anything from fruit juices to confectionery, tea and coffee, and the contents of some vending machines. Fairtrade foods are even served at all meetings hosted by the university or YUSU.
The university also continues to campaign for increased Fairtrade consumption on campus and works to raise students’ awareness of Fairtrade ethics. Students do not need to look far to find the Fairtrade Foundation logo, promising ‘a better deal for Third World Producers’.
It’s about empowering people to be not just economic actors but citizens as well.
So what is the future for fair trade and ethical consumption in general? Bretman thinks that a move towards a more ‘responsible’ form of consumerism is the next step. In the future, ethically-minded people will increasingly apply the values that matter to them in their decisions as consumers:
“It’s about empowering people to be not just economic actors but citizens as well."
However, changing a system as complex as world trade for the better is going to require a complete solution, and this means addressing the needs of producers too. And it is in this area that Bretman believes the larger multinationals are failing.
Rather than address just the symptoms of our flawed world trade system, such as poor working conditions and child labour, Bretman feels that companies need to address the cause. And this means ensuring that their employees in developing world countries are paid a fair wage:
“Until recently, Bangladesh was the focus of clothing production and manufacture, and held that position for almost 30 years. But what has that industry brought to ordinary Bangladeshis? They are no better off now than they were beforehand.”
Further to this, Bretman also sees low wages as a key driver of environmental damage in developing countries. The theory goes that poor wages incentivises short-term thinking: if you’re worried about whether you have the money to send your kids to school, then you can’t afford to think about longer-term issues, like the damage to the environment your subsistence is causing.
But what about climate change? We’re all familiar with the concept of ‘food miles’: flying goods halfway around the world creates unnecessary carbon emissions. As with all such issues, the question is one of balance:
“There are no straight answers. If we are using environmental resources, then we need to ensure that we are at least having a positive developmental impact. Then it is justifiable.”
In light of the Stern Review and other climate scientists reporting that the developing world will be hardest hit by climate change over this century, there seems to be a conflict of interest for producers in developing countries, and indeed for us as consumers and citizens of the globe.
Fair trade is something that we should all think about. While many universities, including York, have stocked their shelves with Fairtrade goods, the process does not stop there. We need to think about the future of fair trade, consider if it has a future; and if so, how we can go about balancing ethical and environmental concerns.
Bretman summed up the situation: "Trade is not just about economics." It is more complex than that, and progress can be measured in two ways: by looking back to see how far you have come, and by looking forward to see how far you have to go. While fair trade has made a positive difference to so many people, there are still ethical and environmental issues to grapple with, and the solutions are far from obvious.
Do we encourage the development of the worldwide fair trade market by purchasing Fairtrade products? Or should we try to minimise our carbon impact and buy locally produced food, thereby limiting the effects of climate change in the developing world? These are the kinds of questions that the Fairtrade Foundation and other ethical organisations will be faced with as ethical consumerism continues to grow and grow.
The talk by Ian Bretman of the Fairtrade Foundation was organised by the York Union Society.
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