Fair Trade Magazine - Winter/Spring 2014

FREE Winter / Spring 2014

fair trade C A N A DA’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Artisanal gold miners earn their share Coffee epidemic in Latin America

Olives in Palestine the barriers growers face

\VillagesCanada

winter /spring

features

15

2014 |

issue

#

3

on the ground 8

City of Vancouver

Vancouver implements fair trade purchasing and ethical investment strategies.

10

Leaf Rust

Farmers in Latin America cope with the devastation of their coffee crops.

Fair Trade in a Divided Land Fair trade helps Palestinian olive farmers grow and sell

12

Supporting Fair Trade

Volunteerism is shaping the way consumers think about their purchasing.

their olive oil.

19

growing change 24

How Sweet it Is

Farmers in Manduvira take ownership of sugar production.

book review Prospecting Sustainability Small-scale miners find economic hope in fair gold.

28

Alternative Trade Fair trade is a growing movement, but what will its future hold?

on the cover Olives in Palestine: the barriers growers face..........................15 Artisanal gold miners earn their share.......................................19 Coffee epidemic in Latin America.................................................10

inside Publisher’s Letter........................................................................................ 6 What is Fair Trade?.................................................................................... 7 Fair Trade in Canada.............................................................................. 30

CF TN.C A |

3

Publisher Sean McHugh Editor Bryce Tarling Associate Editor Erik Johnson Designer Wade Stewart We want to hear from you!

514 – 207 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1H7 1-604-685-6005 | editor@cftn.ca

Canadian Fair Trade Network Réseau canadien du commerce équitable The Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN) is a non-profit organization that works to advance awareness and support for fair trade in Canada. It supports collaboration within the fair trade movement to encourage support for fair trade products and practices. It envisions a Canada that is a global leader in social and environmental responsibility.

Fair Trade Magazine is published by the Canadian Fair Trade Network.

Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without publisher’s written permission. Not responsible for unsolicited editorial material.

The information provided in this magazine is for educational and informational purposes only. Fair Trade Magazine makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omission.

4 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

CF TN.C A |

5

publisher’s letter

Sean McHugh Publisher, Executive Director Canadian Fair Trade Network

FairTrad Fai r Tradee ou d d t o bbe e PPrrou to

aaa aa KW O RW OW

e cvo roecvo retvoot ot

WORKING

to overcome poverty WORKING

to overcome poverty

CREATING

a better society CREATING

a better society

to overcome to overcome povertypoverty a better a society better society

SFU -WORKING Third PageWORKING Horizontal resized 1

CREATING CREATING

INSPIRING

people around us INSPIRING

people around us

people people around around us us

INSPIRING INSPIRING

6 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

cam u s s ssu s camppu ENGAGING

GN GI

the world ENGAGING

dlr

the world

the world the world

ENGAGING ENGAGING13-12-03

11:02 AM

rld

T

he world around us continues to grow in many ways.

Global population has increased from just over 3 billion to more than 7 billion since 1960, and it could reach 10 billion by 2050. Highways have grown wider, buildings taller, and our communication and transportation infrastructure brings us closer and allows us to ship goods around the world in hours rather than days.

But, development has not come without its challenges— of which, many are rooted in the past and have only been exacerbated through growth. Not only have we created systems that produce beyond our needs, yet distribute benefits unequally, our metrics for success are often limited to measurements of profit and output. To progress beyond these limitations, social and environmental concerns must be addressed in a serious way.

We’ve seen municipalities and public institutions take on a greater role in supporting these values. In 2013, three college

ING

Fair Trade Magazine Celebrates One Year

and university campuses and two municipalities earned fair trade designations. There are now six campuses and 17 municipalities in Canada that have committed to sourcing fair trade products, while also committing to greater community awareness around the issues of social sustainability. This growth in support has been made possible by the ongoing co-operation between community and campus volunteers working with policy makers and purchasers to influence greater systemic changes.

We hope Fair Trade Magazine will continue to be a tool for community volunteers, institutional leaders, and businesses who are ready to take a stand in building the world in which they want to see. It’s been one year since we printed 7,000 copies of the first edition. This year, 30,000 copies of our Winter/Spring edition will be distributed through partner organizations and businesses across Canada.

If 2013 was a big year for fair trade, 2014 looks to build this momentum even further. 2

What is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is a powerful tool that goes beyond charity and other aid-based programs. At its core, fair trade aims to empower

Goals for fair trade

marginalized producers to improve their own living conditions.

• ensure

With the proper resources, capacity, and access to key relationships, disadvantaged producers are able to earn their own means to a better life for themselves and their communities.

Process and verification Fair trade evaluates the conditions under which our goods are produced and traded. Certification and labelling systems are used to verify fair practices, because process standards cannot be verified by looking at a final product.

Protections versus rights Many international development programs are geared toward protecting workers around the world, yet workers wouldn’t need protection if they had proper rights to begin with. Fair trade aims to empower producers by ensuring they have access to the rights they deserve. This involves letting them have their say in the issues that affect them.

The fair trade movement Fair trade offers a vehicle for promoting discussion and awareness around global issues. It’s about rethinking our production and consumption systems and recognizing the role that we all play in creating a fair and sustainable world.

farmers and producers are

paid a fair price that accounts for a number of factors including cost of production and adequate living standards • build

stronger relationships

between producers, consumers, and businesses—streamlining supply chains to reduce inefficiencies and create more direct trading relationships • support

producer organizations to

improve their access to markets, tools, resources, and industry knowledge • support

communities by creating the

means to invest in infrastructures such as health and education • ensure

proper standards for

working conditions, environmental sustainability, and respect for cultural identity

Despite its long history among niche markets, fair trade is relatively new for mainstream consumers, and it is still evolving. The fair trade of today won’t be the fair trade of tomorrow. It is our responsibility to recognize our role—whether it be as a consumer, business, institution, or certifier—to ensure that our notions of fair trade continually meet the challenges of global development.

We have the power to make choices that support greater accountability and transparency. By supporting the awareness and availability of fair trade products, we encourage a more responsible vision for the future while contributing to the development of sustainable communities.

CF TN.C A |

7

on the ground

Andrea Reimer speaks at A Community Fair Trade Symposium at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Sustainability Profile: City of Vancouver Community leaders raise the bar for municipalities in Canada

BY BRYCE TA R LING

C

onsistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world, the City of Vancouver has also won several environmental awards and aims to be the world’s greenest city by the year 2020. But for Vancouver, green and livability aren’t enough. The municipality has also made significant commitments to social sustainability and fair trade.

The city originally adopted fair trade sourcing into its policy in 2005, but because its government was voted out the next year, the staff position assigned to the policy was cut.

FTMag_AD_2013_crvs.pdf 1 councillor, 2013-11-12 who 11:05 AM Andrea Reimer, Vancouver city spoke at an

event at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in October, said, “The policy remained, but nobody was there to functionally implement it.” With momentum lost, Fair Trade Vancouver stepped in to help the city work toward an official Fair Trade City designation. The designation would establish the city’s commitments to purchase fair trade products where possible, and support community awareness around fair trade.

Reimer described the media coverage when the original fair trade policy was approved in 2005, and the difficulty they had in convincing the press that fair trade would be a viable initiative for the city. When the announcement came in 2010 that Vancouver became an official Fair Trade City, the media’s perspective had changed; reporters recognized fair trade as a beneficial investment. “It’s quite amazing to see how the world can change in six years,” said Reimer. “It’s not a result of political action, but a result of community action and education through people out in the community.”

But establishing policy is one thing, implementing it is another. Reimer described her frustration in trying to get fair trade coffee brewing at city hall. “I would come into the office, and I would say, ‘That doesn’t look like fair trade coffee, unless you’ve taken time to take it out of one package and put it into another. When is this going to change?’” It took two years before she didn’t have to ask that question anymore.

The City of Vancouver purchases food and office supplies for about ten thousand employees who work at hundreds of job sites that include buildings divided into floors and even sections of floors—all of which, until recently, purchased their own supplies. Not only was this impractical for the city to implement certain standards on purchasing, but it was extremely inefficient. According to Reimer, “It also cost a huge amount of money—more than it should cost—because you’re

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

8 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

not leveraging the power of ten thousand people buying coffee, or pens, or whatever it is they’re buying.”

Pursuing ethical strategies and mandating fair trade factored in the city’s restructuring of its purchasing system, which now comprises one purchasing manager and five purchasing divisions. With the system in place for more than one year, Reimer said, “it’s amazing how much more power we have. We are now fully implemented across all five purchasing divisions in the City of Vancouver. We have an absolute bottom line on fair trade in the product categories that it’s associated with.” At the time of the city’s initial commitment to fair trade, these categories included coffee, tea, sugar, and chocolate.

When the city achieved its Fair Trade status, it also revised its ethical purchasing policy to include apparel and available agricultural products.

When a city commits to ethical purchasing, it can often lead to further sustainable initiatives. In her presentation at Kwantlen, Reimer discussed the city’s new financial investment policy, which would see Vancouver take a proactive approach to managing the impacts of its investments.

The city has an annual budget of $1.4 billion, and assets of close to $7 billion. “When we invest that money in a bank, or a credit union, it could be doing way more damage than our actual purchases are doing. Money does not sit in banks. It

Sustainable investing has seen huge growth in the last decade.

It has the potential to encourage social and environmental responsibility by adopting one of three broad strategies: seeking investments in companies or industries that share

•

your values avoiding or shedding investments in those that don’t

•

share your values using your voice as a shareholder to influence business practices

•

All three strategies require clear understanding of the values, practices, and policies that we want to see our money uphold.

goes out while the rest of us are sleeping and does either good or bad things in the world.”

By September 2014, the City of Vancouver aims to align its investing to standards outlined in its purchasing criteria.

“Imagine the power we would have as cities if we actually got together across Canada,” said Reimer in speaking to the City of Vancouver’s goals in encouraging better practices in municipalities across Canada. “There is a philosophy, not just in government, that if you’re quiet and polite, you’ll get more.

This is not true. The quiet don’t win. There’s a strategic and effective way to say things, but it’s not by not saying it.” 2

co n t i n u e d o n pag e

10

CF TN.C A |

9

on the ground Oscar Omar explains how his approach to organic farming has protected his crop, while his neighbours have suffered greatly from roya.

Leaf Rust Devastation for Latin American coffee farmers

BY BRYCE TA R LING

C

offee producers in Latin America are experiencing the worst epidemic of coffee leaf rust, also referred to as “roya” in Spanish, since the fungal disease first appeared in the region in 1976.

Accounting for 12 percent of the world’s supply, Central American coffee is grown by 351,00 farmers and supports the livelihoods of more than 2 million people. According to the International Coffee Organization, leaf rust has affected more than 50 percent of the total coffee-growing area in Central America.

Roya is a fungal pathogen. Its infection appears initially as pale-yellow spots, which grow into powdery lesions. Once a plant has been infected, the rust causes the plant to shed its leaves, destroying its ability to produce energy through photosynthesis. The disease can have significant impacts on future harvests, as coffee berries grow on shoots from the previous season. The rust can cause these shoots to die, and even kill the trees.

Coffee Rust in Latin America In the 2012–13 growing season, 2.7 million bags of coffee—worth US$500 million—have been lost.

This accounts for 17 percent of Latin America’s coffee production, and farmers predict the 2013–14 harvest will be even worse.

Incidence rate by country: El Salvador: 74%

•

Guatemala: 70%

•

Costa Rica: 64%

•

Nicaragua: 37%

•

Honduras: 25%

•

1 0 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

Monika Firl, communications and producer relations manager for Cooperative Coffees, recently visited producers in El Salvador and attended the Let’s Talk Roya event in November. She hosted a recent webinar on coffee producers in Latin America, and I followed up with her in a phone interview.

“Roya doesn’t affect everyone the same way,” explains Firl. “You have fields with no rust right next to fields that are ravaged, because some trees are much more vulnerable.” This vulnerability can come from the particular strain of coffee, but it can also increase due to factors such as depleted soils, soil acidity, and the health of the ecosystems. In addition, farmers can be affected by unseasonably high temperatures and humidity.

The disease can also impact future yields. “If a farmer is affected in a mild way, they may only experience a decline for their next year’s harvest. But if their trees are affected in a more serious way, and they need to prune back their plants, then it will take two years or longer for their trees to recover.”

This was the case for Profirio Ortiz, manager of Las Marias 93, a coffee-growing co-operative in El Salvador, who, along with the rest of his membership, expects to have no export harvest for the next two years. “Like Las Marias 93, there will be hundreds of co-ops in Latin America who will face this dire situation, where they’ll be reduced to subsistence living.”

The crisis comes at a time when world coffee prices have fallen drastically, reaching a low of US$0.98 per pound in November. Little more than two years ago, throughout April 2011, the average price was US$2.31 per pound.

When coffee plants die, it takes three years for their replacements to mature enough to produce cherries—but it can take as long as six years to reach peak production.

During her recent travels in El Salvador, Firl visited neighbouring farmers in Honduras, and met some who have been able to defend themselves from the leaf rust epidemic.

Oscar Omar, an organic farmer with COMSA, can produce up to 8,000 kilograms per hectare, while his neighbours’ crops have been decimated by leaf rust. It wasn’t that his trees weren’t exposed to leaf rust; his plot is surrounded by infected crops. Rather, it had to do with the health of his trees.

“It takes a lot of work,” says Firl. “And once you get to his level, where you’re actually making money as a coffee farmer, then you’re in that positive cycle. But so many farmers are so deep into a cycle of debt—not making enough money to cover their expenses—they don’t ever climb out of it.”

“Most of the farmers we work with know what to do, but they don’t have access to the resources to do it.” 2

CF TN.C A |

11

on the ground

Supporting Fair Trade Does it lead to greater consumer awareness?

BY LI A WA LSH

V Check out all of our fair trade products at: www.fairtradebrokers.com e: info@fairtradebrokers.com or call us at 250-770-1177 or 250-492-1125

alerie Choo-Foo is not your average university student. When she started her studies in international development a few years ago, she knew she wanted to help make positive changes in the world. But for her, academic study was too abstract, and this perspective led her to spend four months living in Bangladesh.

“It’s unfortunate to say that I had to be exposed to poverty to really have that epiphany moment,” says Choo-Foo. Though she’s always studied the issues, seeing them through pictures and learning about them in a classroom were not as meaningful as actually seeing them in real life. Since her time in Bangladesh, Choo-Foo has been heavily involved in fair trade activism, taking the lead role in Fair Trade Ottawa Équitable’s business outreach program. She’s now preparing to travel to Burkina Faso to work in the field of food security.

While Choo-Foo exemplifies an aware and engaged Canadian consumer, the question “Why is fair trade such a worthy cause compared to other consumer movements?” is a common one. To answer it, we sought the opinions of 48 other Canadians, ranging from retired civil servants to university engineering students, and asked them to share how their values shape their buying habits.

As it turns out, according to the survey, fair trade may play a role in developing broader consumer awareness.

Among the respondents, those who bought fair trade at least some of the time were more likely to support other consumer movements than those who didn’t buy fair trade. In fact, fair trade supporters all said that they bought local at least some of the time, and were the only ones who visited company websites and contacted companies to get product information. They were also the most likely to research products online before purchasing them, where other participants said that they relied primarily on what was written on product packaging.

Respondents who indicated that they don’t buy fair trade described concerns with environmental sustainability and

1 2 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

I N D E P E N D E N T L Y

O W N E D

Importer and Distributor of Fairtrade Certified Flowers for Canada and the USA

www.f lorimex-vancouver.com

organic food issues. Because fair trade certification requires commitments to environmental sustainability (many fair trade products are also certified organic), such responses reveal gaps in fair trade consumer awareness—this means that advocacy groups still have work to do!

A n impressive 90 percent of respondents reported that they bought fair trade products at least sometimes.

For many, fair trade addresses concerns about human rights, environmental sustainability, and supporting alternative business models that focus more on people than profit. “I try not to consume a whole lot in the first place,” says Kelly Banks, who expressed support for alternative business models. “And when I do, I like to buy second-hand when I can.

I try not to shop in big box stores.”

So what is a conscientious consumer?

For Christian Euler, this is “someone who, when faced with a decision involving a material purchase, asks questions about how their [product] options were created.” For Euler, who

often can’t find the answers he looks for, this means that, ultimately, he buys less.

“This is especially true about clothing, which I haven’t purchased in more than six months,” says Euler.

With the number of consumer campaigns out there—every thing from cruelty-free to the 100-mile diet—it’s clear that consumers have a lot of information to deal with. Some participants said that they tend to focus on a few key initiatives, most commonly fair trade and the local food movement.

Others narrowed it down by the type of product they bought. “I know, for example, that clothing is often produced through child slavery,” says Euler.

“So when it comes to clothing, that’s what I’m thinking about. With food, the environmental impact is of more concern for me, because food production is very hard on the environment.”

Many reported that they became more conscientious shoppers through conversations w ith friends a nd acquaintances, or through other initiatives that they had become involved

VALENTINES DAY, ENJOY IT FAIR Fairtrade Certified Roses Available year-round at the following retailers Thrifty Foods Choices Markets Whole Foods Market Planet Organic Claytons Heritage Market Olla Flowers Distributor Pro Organics ®

LOOK FOR THIS MARK

for locations please scan

CF TN.C A |

13

on the ground Those who bought fair trade at least some of the time were more likely to support other consumer movements than those who didn’t buy fair trade. in. Others said that the importance of understanding our impact on others was impressed on them from childhood.

“As long as I can remember, my mom was always promoting social justice in our home,” says Ana Tavares. “She was always buying fairly traded goods when they were available.” Other participants were concerned about their impact on others for spiritual reasons.

Significantly, 78 percent of respondents said that they felt like consumer choices could play a role in positive global change, but that it would be crucial for everyone to work together. With 90 percent of respondents already purchasing fair trade and all of them supporting at least one ethical initiative, the survey indicates that greater consumer awareness is becoming a reality.

But with all of the information and consumer options out there, it can be challenging to commit to ethical shopping overnight. Banks suggests, “Start small. Switch up some of your regular purchases where you can in your local grocery store.”

Why is fair trade so compelling to consumers? It’s an everyday choice that consumers can make to encourage lasting, positive change. Choo-Foo insists, “By buying [fair trade], you’re helping others generate a better income, which subsequently enables them to afford education and increases food security.

It’s also playing the game of trade in a fairer way.”

For Choo-Foo, fair trade has been an outlet to take action.

“Fair trade is the first initiative that I feel really involved with.”

It definitely looks like she’s not alone. 2 Lia Walsh is the chair of Fair Trade Ottawa Équitable and former president of the Engineers Without Borders chapter at the University of Ottawa.

DRINK RESPONSIBLY

BY CHOOSING A FAIRTRADE CERTIFIED COFFEE YOU:

• Ensure producers receive a minimum price for their harvests that covers costs of production.

• Support community development by contributing to a social premium.

• Encourage decent and fair working conditions for workers.

• Promote more environmentally friendly farming practices.

To learn more about our entire sustainable offer for your workplace, which includes a wide variety of Fairtrade Certified coffees, visit us at:

VanHoutteCoffeeServices.com

1 4 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

feature

Abu al Balad in front of an ancient olive tree.

Fair Trade in a Divided Land O L I V E O I L F R O M PA L E S T I N E

BY GW EN R ICH A R DS

CF TN.C A |

15

feature

A

bu al Balad, dressed in a traditional black tunic, drives an old, unsteady tractor toward his olive grove on

the opposite side of Burqin village. The early morning sun streams between concrete houses, lighting the twisting rugged bark of the neighbourhood trees. I cling awkwardly to the side of al Balad’s tractor as we rumble along dirt roads, over hills, and across agricultural plains—all of which hasn’t changed in hundreds of years.

Precious oil Al Balad helps me to the ground. The soil, permanently parched by the sun’s rays, is bone dry beneath my feet. It’s a wonder that life can sustain itself here. But scattered throughout the arid West Bank, olive trees flourish. They are a symbol of steadfastness for farmers living in the occupied territory. Their fruit represents stability. Al Balad holds a plump olive over my hand. “Olive oil,” he says as he squeezes the golden liquid into my palm. The oil is serene, as if blissfully unaware of the complex issues that surround it.

Palestine has a primarily rural economy (accounting for nearly 25 percent of its GDP), and olives are its largest crop—contributing up to 19 percent the country’s agricultural output. While most of the olive harvest goes to producing olive oil for local consumption, up to 30 percent can be sold for export.

Olives are typically produced by small family farms that rely on unpaid family labour. It’s estimated that 100,000 families depend on the olive harvest for their livelihoods. The trees grow on steep, terraced hillsides, and plowing, weeding, and other work must be done by hand or with the help of farm animals. Prior to the introduction of the fair trade model, many Palestinian farmers earned only a meagre exchange for their harvests.

In 2004, Nasser Abdufara worked with farmers in the region to establish the first fair trade standards for olive oil and introduced their product to the global market. The group of about 40 farmers united to form co-operatives in their villages. As a result, they earned more than twice the market value for their oil.

Before joining Canaan Fair Trade, Manal Abdallah, a member

Morning sun on Burqin village.

1 6 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

of the organization, says “It was not even worth the effort to harvest the trees. Many farmers started to think about leaving their land to look for other sources of income.”

Since 2004, Canaan Fair Trade has grown to more than 1,700 farmers—including many women—and produces olives, almonds, couscous, and other food products. But despite the organization’s success, farmers still face many challenges.

Barrier for farmers I sit down with Ahmed, a member of the Anin fair trade cooperative, and we drink dark, bitter coffee in his living room.

His wife appears from the kitchen, offering a plate of stuffed grape leaves—yet another instance of the genuine hospitality I’ve encountered throughout the region. Soon, family and neighbours trickle in, and the front room of Ahmed’s home becomes a gathering place to share stories.

Anin is a village several kilometres northeast of al Balad’s home. It looks like any other rural community, perched atop a hill overlooking terraces of olive trees that descend into the Al Balad with his olives.

valley. Old men sit under the shaded porches of cool stone buildings, smoking fragrant hookahs to pass the time. Women wearing colourful head scarfs chat happily as children play in the otherwise vacant streets. But past the terraced olive groves lies the infamous separation barrier that divides Israel and the West Bank. The barrier is a thin line in the distance, cutting through the landscape and curving around Anin.

The government of Israel began constructing the separation barrier in 2002, with the stated purpose of protecting Israeli citizens from Palestinian terrorist attacks.

It comprises a system of security features that includes fences, ditches, razor wire, electronic monitoring, and buffer zones.

In more populated areas, the barrier’s concrete walls can reach as high as eight metres. The major political controversy around the barrier is that it intrudes into the West Bank territory as defined by the Green Line, also referred to as the 1949 Armistice Line. In 2004, the International Court of Justice, while acknowledging Israel’s right and obligation to protect its citizens, called on the government of Israel to cease construction of the barrier within the West Bank.

By 2012, 62 percent of the barrier had been constructed.

If it’s completed as planned, 85 percent of the barrier will lie within the West Bank, isolating 9.4 percent of Palestinian territory and 23,000 of its residents. This area contains some of the most fertile land for agriculture and key sources of fresh water in the region.

For many of the farmers in Anin, the barrier isolates them from their olive groves, requiring them to apply for permits that give them limited access through a designated checkpoint. Often, the permit doesn’t allow them sufficient time to complete their harvest.

The barrier is not the only obstacle for farmers. Within the West Bank, 60 percent of the land is designated as Area C, which means Israel controls security, planning, and zoning.

Families who live close to the Area C settlements have experienced physical attacks and the destruction of their trees.

Marketing woes On my last day, I travel to Ramallah, the chaotic and disorganized city that houses Palestine’s government.

Ramallah is also home to the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee’s (PARC) head office, where I meet with Shadi Mahmoud, who works in the fair trade department. We sit in his office, which proudly displays bottles of olive oil, jars of honey and sundried tomatoes, and packages of za’atar, a popular herb mixture used in Middle Eastern cooking. On the walls, there are thank-you letters and photos of smiling visitors who made the trip to Palestine to meet their partners in the global fair trade movement.

CF TN.C A |

17

feature Mahmoud explains how PARC began helping farmers in the late 1980s, when the First Intifada uprising made the region entirely unstable. “They faced so much trouble selling their products to the market, and volunteers from PARC started helping these producers in different areas to sell their produce in major cities. Although, at that time, they did not know anything about fair trade. It was just like an intervention to help the farmers.” PARC now runs three processing facilities—including a date facility in Jericho that employs women from nearby refugee camps. The organization provides continued support and education, working closely with producer co-operatives to maintain their organic and fair trade certifications.

It’s estimated that 100,000 families depend on the olive harvest for their livelihoods.

To appeal to the gourmet market, PARC has taken care to produce only the highest quality extra virgin oil. The entire production process is monitored. This involves keeping chemicals off the trees, storing the fruit properly, and testing for acidity and other taste and quality indicators. As a result, Palestinian olive oil has proven itself in competition with high-quality European olive oils on supermarket shelves. And it needs to be good, because the cost of production and export is much higher compared to oils from other origins.

When the olive oil is ready for export, restrictions from Israel create further complications. Palestinians in the West Bank rely on the Israeli port of Haifa to ship products overseas.

Shadi explains that getting from the production facility to the port is not easy. “[The cost of] internal transportation is high because sometimes you have roadblocks, and the lorries would wait for a long time at the checkpoints.” Once the shipment arrives in Haifa, it can be delayed for even longer—often in the hot sun, potentially damaging the delicate oil. As a non-Israeli organization, PARC pays a higher price to export through Haifa and can only fill their containers about three-quarters full to make room for special security checks. With many aspects outside their control, West Bank exporters know that conditions can change quickly, and new challenges can arise at any time.

Hope for the future Despite the uncertainties around them, al Balad and his family look forward to the olive harvest each year. The days are long, and harvesting their one thousand trees takes more than a month, but they know they can sell their oil for a fair price.

They have a modest home, send their children to school, and most importantly, they farm their land—land that has been in their family for generations—with dignity. 2 Gwen Richards is owner of Fable Naturals, a fair trade cosmetics company based in Vancouver, BC.

1 8 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

PROSPECTING SUSTAINABILITY How fair trade can refine artisanal and small-scale gold mining

BY ER IK JOHNSON GIAMBRA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

CF TN.C A |

19

feature

O

n January 21, 1980, with an over-inflated US dollar, and cannons still cooling from the recent Iranian revolution and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the price of gold soared to a-then-unheard-

of US$850 per ounce. The next day, the price nosedived. But the surge had launched a new economic path for millions of workers in the developing world: artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM). Over the next three decades, the price of gold fluctuated (reaching an all-time low of US$251.71 per ounce in 1999), but greater numbers of impoverished men and women continued to uproot their families, abandon their agrarian lifestyles, and take to extracting ore with often archaic methods.

As a label, ASM is affixed to a range of mining activities, from panning alluvial deposits (found near the surface and along riverbeds) to hard-rock extraction, where ore is mined from primary vein deposits deep beneath the earth. Even the reprocessing of abandoned tailings from large-scale industrialized mines is considered ASM. Some artisanal and small-scale mining operations (ASMOs) are well organized; they negotiate land-access rights and employ hundreds of miners. Others are informal and often illegal—orphan labourers, migratory workers, and dispossessed families working individually or in small groups to extract, transport, and process gold.

Generally, artisanal gold miners aim to extract small amounts of high-quality ore overlooked by large-scale mining companies. The industrial muscle of these large-scale mines accounts for 90 percent of gold-mining revenues while only employing 10 percent of the worldwide gold-mining labour force. Within its various manifestations, artisanal mining presents a breadth of challenges, while always demanding hard work and often providing too little in return.

“We do not need gold—to wear it around our neck, or to bury in a safe. However, there are 15 million miners providing a livelihood for 100 million people who need it to live,” says Patrick Schein in an interview for a French television documentary.

Schein is a fair gold refiner and member of the board of directors for the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), a non-profit organization that seeks to change ASM and improve the quality of life for the often-impoverished miners.

In a report published in 2011, ARM estimates that 200 to 300 tonnes of gold is extracted every year by artisanal and small-scale miners, and over 70 nations have documented ASM activity. Gold mining tends to be popular in regions where the average income is below the poverty line of US$1 per day; workers are drawn to the mines because they can earn significantly more. But these ambitions are seldom filled.

The reality of ASM involves dangerous work environments,

insufficient safety equipment and training, gender inequality and discrimination, child labour, swindling middlemen, and, ultimately, long-term entrapment in a cycle of poverty.

“People say things like, ‘They shouldn’t be mining in the first place,’” says Ryan Taylor, chief designer and co-founder of the Toronto-based Fair Trade Jewellery Company. “They miss the point that this is a way of life for people.” By setting standards, paying premiums, and helping to create directtrading relationships between miners and jewellers, certifying bodies, such as Fairtrade International (FLO) and ARM, have given jewellery consumers an option that benefits gold producers, empowering them to work safely and sustainably, and helping them build healthy, growing communities. “That’s always been the focus of this company,” says Taylor. “To use the retail sales channel to improve the lives of miners and provide them with a source of revenue that wasn’t tied to a supply chain that has exploited them in the past.”

The hazards of mercury amalgamation Many ASMOs use mercury amalgamation to separate semipure gold from raw ore, a process that presents a major safety issue for workers. Fairtrade and Fairmined (ARM’s certification label) standards allow for mercury processing when done safely and correctly; it requires little investment and infrastructure and is ideal for processing small batches of ore within a short period of time. Both FLO and ARM recognize that for smaller ASMOs, mercury is the only feasible processing tool. Unfortunately, many workers aren’t aware of mercury’s toxicity and have never been trained to use it safely.

This scene is typical: A worker—maybe a woman with a baby strapped to her back and a toddler playing nearby—uses a prehistoric stone mill to grind recently extracted ore into a concentrated powder. Without gloves, she mixes the powder by hand in a slurry of mercury and water. The gold and mercury amalgamate as a metallic globule that shimmies across her gold pan. She pours the globule into a small metal container

2 0 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

resting on a nearby fire; the mercury is burned off, leaving flakes of semi-pure gold and releasing poisonous vapours into the poorly ventilated work area.

Mercury is a neurotoxin. Exposure, especially when airborne particles are inhaled, can cause permanent lung and brain damage, and may lead to issues in muscle coordination, blindness, memory problems, and death. To minimize mercury exposure, Fairtrade and Fairmined standards require ASMOs to properly pre-process the ore (higher concentrations of gold can be processed with less mercury) and provide protective equipment such as retorts, which are devices that trap mercury vapours and allow the chemical to be reused.

Cyanide leaching might sound evil, but for larger ASMOs, it’s a cleaner and more efficient alternative to mercury amalgamation. But leaching requires a processing plant—a significant infrastructure investment—and solid management to ensure that used cyanide is properly detoxified through exposure to UV rays or oxygen, which renders it biodegradable.

mercury, and working long shifts—up to 24 hours. Some earn sustainable wages, but the gold they extract is worth much, much more. These child miners are often orphans, forced into work to feed themselves and their families. Girls who work in the mines face sexual harassment, as well as the physical hazards of the job. In the Chunya and Kahama districts of Tanzania, girls are pressured into the sex trade, putting them at risk to contract HIV and other STIs, dragging them into the destructive cycle of commercial sexual exploitation.

Tanzania exported $2.17 billion worth of gold in 2012, making it the third largest producer in Africa. Gold is the nation’s primary revenue earner, and the government recognizes the issue of child labour within in its small-scale mining industry. But inconsistent inspection protocol and limited resources prevent its initiatives from being properly enacted and enforced. Launched with the best of intentions, the National Action Plan on the Elimination of Child Labour, which aims to rid the sector of all child labour, and the National

“When you pay $1,500 to $3,000 for an engagement ring, there is a direct connection to a community that got to benefit from that purchase.”

While it produces larger yields, cyanide leaching, which is the standard for major industrialized mining operations, takes longer and requires larger quantities of ore.

The Oro Verde mining program in the biologically diverse Chocó region in western Colombia uses traditional, chemicalfree techniques to process ore from alluvial deposits in the rainforest and along riverbeds. By committing to gold panning and gravimetric separation, which uses centrifuges and sluice boxes to separate the gold (techniques handed down from the original Afro-Colombian communities of the Chocó), Oro Verde miners receive additional ecological premiums for their gold. Oro Verde has committed to preventing soil erosion and restoring the rainforest affected by their mining activity—making the program a leader in producing fair and environmentally responsible gold. The Afro-Colombians of the Chocó are given land-access rights by the Colombian government, but despite this formal recognition, the region is inundated with illegal mining operations, which use heavy machinery to decimate the rainforest with little regard for the Chocó’s inhabitants and ecosystems.

Child labour in Tanzanian ASMOs According to an August 2013 report by New York–based Human Rights Watch, thousands of Tanzanian children, some as young as eight, work in ASM. They work underground, hauling heavy bags of ore, processing gold by hand with

Strategic Plan for Mercury Management, which mandates health initiatives to treat mercury-related illnesses and requires registration for ASMOs using mercury, have failed to impact the issues. When inspections for child labour do occur, the inspectors send away the smaller children, but they fail to properly determine ages of older children or conduct followup visits. This means the small children who were sent away return to the mines once the inspectors leave.

Other factors drive children to the mines, including a faulty education system. Tanzanian primary schools, which are supposedly free to attend, often demand illegal fees, and the high cost of secondary schools and sparse opportunities for vocational training make mining one of the few employment options for many Tanzanian young people. A lack of a proper support system for orphans also contributes to child labour.

Among other recommendations, Human Rights Watch stated that the increased formalization of ASM, along with proper inspection and enforcement, would do much to improve the child-labour rate in the African nation.

Through a funding partnership with Comic Relief, FLO is guiding nine east African ASMOs toward Fairtrade certification, aiming to have some of these mines meeting standards by the end of 2015. A September 2013 report in the Guardian describes the improvements already underway at an ASMO in northwest Tanzania, the Ilani mine, which has worked with FLO to ban child labour, make safety equipment CF TN.C A |

21

feature mandatory, and halt the open-air processing of mercury-gold amalgam. Harriet Lamb, chief executive at FLO, says in the article, “Fairtrade is not something where you can click your fingers and magically start paying farmers and miners, but they have started to tackle their problems.” According to the Guardian piece, an important step is the creation of a supply chain to connect the African ASMOs to markets in Europe and North America, similar to the ones established through the work of FLO and ARM in South America.

Peruvian fair gold High in the barren Atacama Desert of Peru, fair gold is being extracted, processed, and exported directly to North American and European jewellers. The AURELSA mining cooperative has been certified Fairmined since May 2012, and has built a direct-trading relationship with a group of United States– based jewellers, the Ethical Metalsmiths Consortium. This relationship allows AURELSA to export fair gold directly into the United States, broadening its market and reducing its reliance on intermediaries. The knowledge and experience gained through certification has also allowed AURELSA to help other regional ASMOs; the co-operative holds workshops and trains miners to better manage their finances and understand the nuances of exporting gold—skills that weren’t practiced when gold was sold to middlemen.

To achieve Fairmined certification, the 86 shareholders, who include nine women, devised a long-term development plan for the mine and the community of Relave, a town of 4,000 supported by the mine. AURELSA has made efforts to improve gender equality, and Fairmined Premiums have financed the opening of jewellery workshops in town, where women make a living outside the mine, giving them flexible schedules and rewarding projects. AURELSA has also used premiums to build an industrial park outside of Relave, moving mining activities away from their homes and children.

But how does a product like gold, with its multiple stages of processing and refining, maintain its fair provenance?

Taylor explains his supply chain: “[Our refiner, Patrick Schein,] purchases the gold, then he gets the certification documentation on the weight and the assay. Then it is taken back to France. It’s put through its own process. It’s weighed again. It’s assayed again. That documentation is provided back to ARM and Fairtrade, and then it’s shipped to us with a weight and an assay, and we document when we build with it again… how much we used and for what project. And it’s actually tracked, for us, down to the consumer.”

Operating in an abandoned American hard-rock mine in the Atacama desert, the SOTRAMI mining organization

employs 300 workers and supports 500 families. Miners work underground wearing orange hardhats and personal ventilators, safely breaking apart veins of ore with explosives and pneumatic drills. SOTRAMI was established in 1989 and had already made significant efforts to align with international labour standards and eliminate child labour when it began working toward Fairtrade and Fairmined certification. One of the biggest challenges faced by SOTRAMI is the region’s poor water supply, which limits the options for processing ore. To maintain Fairtrade and Fairmined certification (received in the spring of 2011), SOTRAMI will have to continue to make their gold as chemical-free as possible.

The nearby community of Santa Filomena has benefitted from the Fairtrade and Fairmined Premiums paid through SOTRAMI. They’ve opened a preschool for 140 local children, and hope to hire more teachers and improve the school’s water supply. SOTRAMI also employs 180 women, although none of them work in the tunnels. Rather, they sort ore for processing, raking through piles with a tool called a manito, or “little hand.” The women are members of the Pallaqueras association, established in 2003 to organize the workers in shifts, allowing them to work reasonable hours around their commitments to child care.

Since SOTRAMI and AURELSA are in the water-starved Atacama Desert, the opportunity to embrace processing methods that are less dependent on chemicals is limited.

Gravimetric separation, in particular, demands significant amounts of water. At SOTRAMI, only trained workers chemically process the ore; this reduces the environmental impact and ensures safe disposal. The Fairtrade and Fairmined certifications require ASMOs to control emissions, limit dust and mud outflow, protect biodiversity, restore damaged ecology, reduce the use of toxic chemicals, and implement cleaner technologies wherever possible.

For ASMOs like SOTRAMI and AURELSA, the premiums paid through Fairtrade and Fairmined are their main incentive for certification; unlike smaller, less-formal ASMOs, these larger operations in South America usually receive fair market value for their gold. The cost to comply with Fairtrade and Fairmined certification can be as high as $100,000 over the course of two years. ASMOs seeking certification have to pay royalties and taxes; these are new and significant expenses.

Other cost requirements for Fairtrade and Fairmined certification include formal contracts for all mine employees, social security payments, safety equipment and training, and upgrades to processing systems.

The jewellery industry represents billions of dollars. “If we can divert some of that money down to these communities for

2 2 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

education, healthcare, supporting women in the workforce, and doing micro-financing—this is exciting stuff, and that sort of excitement doesn’t really come from chocolate,” says Taylor.

“Fairtrade and Fairmined gold actually has a direct impact…

When you pay $1,500 to $3,000 for an engagement ring, there is a direct connection to a community that got to benefit from that purchase.”

In April of 2013, with its price hovering around US$1,550, gold experienced its largest one-day dollar drop in over thirty years. But today, with three ASMOs certified to market Fairtrade and Fairmined gold, an additional Fairmined certified ASMO, and as many as 30 others in process, fair gold brings potential stability to producers. In fine-tuning their certification systems and standards, ARM and FLO are transitioning to a fixed premium per gram, replacing the existing percentage-based system. This will benefit producers and buyers alike, giving both a steady platform from which to plan their businesses—an added buffer against the everfluctuating price of gold. Ideally, as more ASMOs become certified, formal recognition from governments should also increase. In addition to Europe and North America, Fairmined certified gold is being sold in Australia and Japan. Now, more than ever, through the work of ARM and FLO, impoverished workers can turn to ASM for an achievable economic future.

It’s a future that requires hard work, something miners have always welcomed. But now they have a potential to receive fair pay. 2

SEPT

2014

Erik Johnson is the associate editor of Fair Trade Magazine.

photo credits

Shutterstock.com Mythja (cover), Giambra (pg.19), Jiri Hera (pg.24 + 26), Ittipon (pg.25)

Fairtrade Sports Balls

PLAY FA I R

Use Fair Trade Sports Balls

www.museumforhumanrights.ca www.museepourlesdroitsdelapersonne.ca

www.social-conscience.com | 604.731.0067 CF TN.C A |

23

growing change

How Sweet It Is Buying fair trade sugar empowers farmers and protects the environment

BY ELLEN N IEM ER

I

t’s hard to imagine a tougher way to earn a living than growing and harvesting sugar cane by hand. Small-scale sugar cane farmers in countries

such as Paraguay, Belize, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Malawi face dangerous challenges every day—challenges that impact their personal health and the environment.

Many farms are located in isolated rural areas where health care,

education, transportation, and clean water are often lacking. In traditional farming situations, a sugar cane farmer typically earns US$1 to US$5 a day.

To survive, they often need to subsidize their income by raising livestock, growing cash crops such as maize, or working off the farm.

Unfair competition World sugar markets operate in ways that can impede farmers from making a decent living. Farmers are at the end of a global supply chain that produces 160 million tonnes of sugar a year.

The industry employs millions of people in 123 countries involved in refining, packaging, and shipping sugar.

Sugar cane grown in tropical countries produces 80 percent of the world’s sugar, with the remaining 20 percent produced from sugar beets, many of which are grown in Europe. To protect its own industries, and to the disadvantage of producers in developing countries, the European Union subsidizes its beet farmers, sets production quotas and high prices, imposes import tariffs, and dumps its surplus sugar on world markets. These practices have driven sugar prices down, making it even tougher for farmers in poor countries to make a living.

Sugar prices are highly volatile, affected significantly by supply and demand. For instance, in 1984, Coca-Cola and Pepsi 2 4 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

began using high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar in their soft drinks, causing sugar prices to plummet. Sugar prices reached a 30-year high in 2011, but in 2012, they dropped 45 percent. A 2013 report by Rabobank predicts further sugar surpluses through 2014. It states that, based on current supply and demand, these surpluses will be the largest experienced by the industry in the past 15 years. This is not good news for the world’s small-scale farmers.

!

W NE

Other obstacles But there are many more challenges to growing sugar cane than volatile world markets. Farmers also face harsh working conditions and serious health hazards.

Dark chocolate & Hazelnuts

Poor working conditions A sugar cane cutter works long hours under the hot tropical sun. Cutters, when severely overworked, risk death from heatstroke and exhaustion. They use sharp machetes to harvest the sugar cane, and tired workers risk serious cuts and injuries.

In countries such as El Salvador, children may work in the fields for up to nine hours a day. Like adults, they use machetes and are susceptible to the same workplace hazards.

Health risks and environmental threats Pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, and especially herbicides are commonly used in growing sugar cane. The toxic chemicals they contain are a health threat to workers and to the environment. Before the sugar cane is harvested, fields

Raisins & Nuts

Scan, enter & you could WIN a sample of NuTerra Granola 400g *contest ends June 1st 2014, scan for more details

Made with first-quality Fairtrade ingredients NuTerraCereal.com

CF TN.C A |

25

growing change are often burned to destroy leaves, so only the stalks remain, making the cane easier to cut. The fires create pollution that can lead to respiratory problems for workers and release acidic fine particles into the atmosphere, which contribute to climate change.

Fair trade brings new markets, new hope More than 37,000 farmers in countries around the globe have overcome the difficulties of traditional sugar cane farming by adopting Fairtrade certification. Fair trade principles promote self-sufficiency, better working conditions, sound agricultural practices, and a healthier environment.

Today, Fairtrade certified sugar is grown by 69 organizations in • Belize • Brazil • Costa Rica • Cuba • Ecuador • Fiji • Ghana • Guyana • India • Malawi • Mauritius • Paraguay • Peru • Philippines • Zambia

Homegrown success story One of the most successful organizations is the Manduvirá co-operative in Paraguay’s isolated Arroyos y Esteros district. In 1999, this group of sugar cane farmers obtained Fairtrade certification for their crop, and were encouraged by their Fairtrade contacts to rent a factory and become financially independent.

Using money earned from Fairtrade Premiums, they also underwent the long process of obtaining their own 2 6 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

organic certificate, which they achieved in 2004. They hired a local sugar mill to process their crop, and became the first Paraguayan co-op to export their own sugar directly to clients overseas.

In 2011, they began building their own sugar mill, the first producer-owned mill of its kind. The farmers no longer have to pay to transport their sugar cane to a mill 100 kilometres away, nor do they have to pay refining costs.

The Manduvirá co-operative now has more than 1,500 members. They export their own fair trade sugar to more than 30 clients in Europe, Asia, Latin America, New Zealand, and Canada.

And along with growing sugar cane, they also produce cotton, sesame, molasses, and stevia.

“Thanks to Fairtrade, we have grown from small sugar cane farmers to sugar producers,” stated Andrés Gonzáles Aguilera, the manager of the co-operative.

Social benefits of Fairtrade certification The volatility of the international sugar market keeps many farmers in poverty, but when co-operatives such as Manduvirá adopt Fairtrade certification, farmers are paid a fair and stable price for their product. As well, payment of a Fairtrade Premium allows co-operatives to provide members and their families with social and economic benefits that can transform—and save—lives.

In 2004, Manduvirá used Fairtrade Premiums to undertake their first major project: building a community hall and an office with a medical clinic to house a doctor, two dentists, two medics, and laboratory services. Up to that time, there was only one doctor who looked after patients in the entire region.

The Fairtrade Premiums also made possible other benefits, including many everyday amenities that we take for granted: running water, bathrooms with toilets, improved housing, and computers.

Farmers are at the end of a global supply chain that produces 160 million tonnes of sugar a year.

Environmental benefits The benefits extend to the environment as well. Sugar cane is often grown in wetlands and other vulnerable ecosystems where it contributes to a major loss of biodiversity. Its production also requires a lot of water—from 7,000 to 45,000 litres per hectare.

With the help of the Fairtrade Premiums, farmers are able to grow sugar cane using sustainable methods that protect the environment. Organic fertilizers and biological diseasecontrol methods are used, with organic practices encouraged whenever possible.

Why should I buy fair trade sugar?

According to a survey conducted by Fairtrade International in 2011, Canadians “have high expectations for companies to act responsibly when working in poor countries, particularly for paying workers and farmers fairly. Most Canadians believe in the power of ethical consumerism to address global challenges.”

One such challenge is child labour, which is common in the sugar industry. Buying Fairtrade certified sugar ensures no child under the age of 15 was forced to endure long hours of back-breaking work to produce the sweetener you stir into your morning coffee.

Fair trade connects consumers directly to producers by allowing products, such as sugar, to be traced back to their source, such as the Manduvirá co-operative in Paraguay.

The decision to buy fair trade sugar is an ethical choice that allows us to impact the lives of farmers and their families in a positive way. When we purchase fair trade sugar, we help provide education, health care, environmental protection, sustainability, and fair labour practices—and that’s a sweet deal for us all. 2

Check out all of our fair trade products at: www.fairtradebrokers.com e: info@fairtradebrokers.com or call us at 250-770-1177 or 250-492-1125

PROJECT: TRIFINIO EL SALVADOR | SINGLE-ORIGIN RESERVE

Subtly savoury with sweet white grape and a cherry jam finish

# 1 Cup of Excellence 2013 from UNESCO’s Trifinio Biosphere Reserve http://tinyurl.com/trifinio

One of this year’s finest and most environmentally friendly coffees.

Ellen Niemer is a writer and editor at alive magazine. She loves discovering new fair trade products.

Proud to partner with

Free magnet with online order Coupon code: FTMAG

CF TN.C A |

27

book review

Alternative Trade: Legacies for the Future

By Gavin Fridell Fernwood Publishing, 2013 178 pages, $24.95 • ISBN: 9781552665879 R E V IE W ED BY K IER A N SMITH

M

any fair trade advocates willingly contribute to a fairer world for disadvantaged producers. But where does fair trade fit in the larger notion of alternative trade?

In this dense-but-approachable short text, Gavin Fridell, the Canada research chair in international development studies at Saint Mary’s University, examines the concept of alternative trade and how it could provide insight into the growing movement for fair trade.

Fridell loosely defines alternative trade as a model that offers three potential components: state power, social welfare, and favour toward poorer groups.

Fridell is compelling when he dismantles the arguments that support, what he calls, the “free trade package,” which refers to the broad political, economic, and ideological forces

behind free trade policies. From a social perspective, free trade has left many millions trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. It has failed to contribute to the well-being of many societies, yet it is still heavily promoted as the only viable route to economic growth and development.

Using three case studies, he shows how alternative trade offers a framework for development beyond the free trade package.

In his first case study, Fridell describes how the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) generated prices for conventional coffee between 1963 and 1989 that were equal to, and in some years, twice today’s fair trade price. As

well, the ICA reached all the world’s coffee producers. Fair trade certification currently reaches only 3 percent.

Canadian wheat farmers, his second example, are susceptible to conditions similar to those encountered by producers in developing nations; they are highly vulnerable to global market and climatic forces. The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) was established in the 1930s to offer stable prices to western Canadian farmers and became one of the most successful and longest-lasting state-run trading enterprises in modern times.

The third case study shows the “protected access” example of the European Union–Caribbean banana

Manitoba is a leader in Fair Trade Become a part of Manitoba’s Fair Trade movement!

MCIC’s Fair Trade program can help you: • Advise your school or business on ethical purchasing and policy • List your business in our Fair Trade Manitoba Consumer Guide • Offer resources like our Ethical Fashion Show Kit, Fair Trade materials, display materials, and publications • Recognize your next conference, fair or festival as a Fair Trade Event • Engage the public through Fair Trade campaigns and activities, such as our hugely successful Carrotmobs Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/FairTradeManitoba

For more information and to sign up for our Fair Trade eNewsletter visit our new website www.FairTradeManitoba.ca or contact us at fairtrade@mcic.ca or (204) 987-6420

2 8 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

regime. It operated a successful quota system that enabled smallholder banana farmers to compete with the giant plantations of Latin America.

Fridell argues these alternative trade examples succeed because they target the needs of relatively poorer producers, and thus have had success in maximizing social welfare tied to their respective industries. In other words, social regulation is a key component of alternative trade. But rather than being socialist alternatives, they actually “promoted the expansion of capitalist social relations and the further integration of peasant and small-scale farmers into a world trading system increasingly dominated by transnational companies.”

The strength, and the imperative, of alternative trade is that through the process of production and exchange it offers a broader distribution of wealth. This is converse to free trade, which purports to provide trickle down benefits—a highly debated effect that often sees wealth accumulate “in the hands of the rich… expecting they will choose to compensate society after the fact.”

Fridell does point to f laws in his alternative trade examples, such as the lack of democratic control, but he observes similar problems with the free trade package that overwhelmingly favours rich and powerful nations (e.g., free

trade agreements, the World Trade Organization). Proponents of the free trade package are also prone to what Fridell calls “historical amnesia,” where the problems of free trade are often overlooked.

Fair trade is a voluntary and market-driven approach compatible with broader free trade reforms, but Fridell suggests that it won’t be a long-term solution in its present form, and will need to evolve—a process that could benefit by examining the successful models of alternative trade described in the book.

For the relatively new fair trade movement, which has seen ongoing flux, the book gives fair trade advocates pause for thought in envisioning its future and its role within a broader vision of trade.

Kieran Smith is a member of the Fair Trade Vancouver board of directors. In 2011, he travelled from Vancouver, BC, to South America by bicycle to learn about fair trade producers. www.fairtradebikeride.org

CF TN.C A |

29

Fair Trade in Canada [British Columbia]

[Ontario]

vancouver

st. catherines

Simon Fraser University recently made headlines in welcoming to their campus the first Starbucks store in Canada to offer customers a Fairtrade certified option for their handcrafted espresso beverages. vancouver

Fairtrade Canada held its AGM in Vancouver, where the board of directors announced it will present a new model for membership and governance in January 2014.

[Alberta] edmonton

After many years of outreach, advocacy, and engagement, Edmonton has officially become Canada’s 17th Fair Trade Community.

[Saskatchewan] saskatoon

Fair Trade Saskatoon and Engineers Without Borders are supporting the Fair Trade Campus initiative at the University of Saskatchewan.

[Manitoba] winnipeg

More than 1,000 people participated in Fair Trade Manitoba’s annual Fair Trade Challenge, held from Halloween to Buy Nothing Day. The organization also held its second Carrot Mob, rewarding Jonny’s StickyBuns for its commitment to sourcing fair trade products. Thanks to the event, the shop sold out of buns by early afternoon.

Brock University became Canada’s sixth Fair Trade Campus. The effort began with the efforts of students Anneka Bosse and Charissa DiMarco, who had started a fair trade club in their high school. toronto

Fairtrade Canada held its second annual Canadian Fairtrade Awards in October. thunder bay

The City of Thunder Bay committed to purchasing fair trade coffee and tea for council meetings and city vending machines—a first step in fair trade procurement after the city council received a motion presented by local students.

[Quebec] montreal

McGill University celebrated its Fair Trade Campus status during Fair Trade Campus Week in September to raise awareness and promote socially conscious consumption.

[Atlantic Canada] halifax

Saint Mary’s University held an Alternative Trade workshop in November. Experts from around the world discussed everything from fair trade to carbon trading, the rise of Asia to the vulnerability of small states.

St. Catherines, Ontario

gimli

Gimli installed a sign proclaiming its Fair Trade Town status.

Gimli, Manitoba

Fair Trade Edmonton 3 0 | F A I R T R A D E M A G A Z I N E  C A N A D A’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y