Green Options » FLO

Cadbury’s Goes Fairtrade with Dairy Milk

Kay Sexton — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:44:15 +0000

Cadbury’s, the firm which makes Diary Milk, Britain’s highest-selling chocolate, has said that it wants the bar to be Fairtrade certified by the autumn of this year.

Grand stuff, and the Fairtrade certification definitely improves the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities for those who produce Fairtrade certified foods. Having visited a number of Fairtrade cooperatives in my life, I’m confident that on the human scale, Fairtrade producers live better, and longer, than their non-Fairtrade compatriots. But on the environmental scale, it may be time for The Fairtrade Licensing Organisations International (FLO) to ramp up its commitment to the world at large.

What is Fairtrade for the environment?

It’s a tough and unpopular thing to say, and certainly the producers in the rich world should be putting their houses in order faster too, and consumers could be doing more to refuse high-input, high-damage food production systems in favour of low-input, organic and low-damage systems, but – for those who read the standards set down by FLO – there’s sometimes a feeling that rods are being made for backs already burdened by debt. While it could seem harsh to impose tougher ‘rules’ on Fairtrade producers now, it could help them remain competitive in a future where more care is taken over purchasing ‘good’ food that is good for the environment as well as the body and the pocket.

Hearing Their Voices: FLO Gives Producers Membership

Alicia Erickson — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:36:02 +0000

Fair Trade is growing rapidly at a 40% compound annual rate, and it is increasingly important to ensure the over 1.4 million producers and workers within the Fair Trade structure have a voice.

The Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO) was established with the mission to go beyond the basic minimum requirements of both producers and traders by expecting them "to continuously improve working conditions, to increase the environmental sustainability of their activities and to invest in organizational development for workers and small farmers" through progress requirements.

In November 2006, FLO’s Meeting of Members unanimously voted to adopt a new constitution allowing producers to become full and participating members. Barbara Fiorito, Chair of FLO Board says “This unanimous decision to expand FLO General Assembly membership to include Producer Networks is an important step for FLO to become a truly multi-stakeholder organization“ On May 25, 2007 FLO made further progress towards this end as Coordinadora Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Comercia Justo (CLAC), African Fairtrade Network (AFN) and the Network of Asian Producers (NAP) all officially became full members of FLO. Raymond Kimaro, Chairman of the African Fairtrade Network (AFN), says

… we are optimistic that the new FLO Constitution shall ensure that right arrangements are in place to sufficiently accommodate member producer aspirations and expectations. The new arrangement should facilitate more understanding of the difficult living conditions in the south and possibly trigger urgent transfer of wealth to the south where the poor are badly in need.

From the developed world point of view, Peter Gaynor, head of Fair Trade Ireland points out

… we think it is important that producers are now co-owners of FLO – we are working to improve their situation and need to know what their priorities are. Whilst what we do is very simple, it’s important that we listen to each other and then do what will make the most difference to people in developing countries.

This is a positive step toward keeping the Fair Trade movement honest to it’s ideals. Similarly IFAT has producer groups represented by a majority membership, and Transfair has a council to include producer input into objectives, strategies and polices. It is important that as Fair Trade gains more mainstream notoriety companies hold true to the fairness in their trade and make sure treatment of producers is just and their voices are always heard.

Fair Trade: Certification

Brady Swenson — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:56:12 +0000

In 1988, in an effort to expand the distribution of fair trade products to mainstream retailers, a Dutch Alternative Trade Organization, Solidaridad, established a creative solution to increase sales while maintaining consumer trust. The organization created a label, called Max Havelaar, which guaranteed that the goods met certain labor and environmental standards. The label, first only applied to coffee, was named after a best-selling 19th century book about the exploitation of Javanese coffee plantation workers by Dutch colonial merchants.

As the Fair Trade movement continued to grow the idea of a certified label spread to other countries participating in the movement until most countries in Europe, the U.S. and Canada had established third-party labelling organizations. In 1997 these labelers created an umbrella organization, the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, with the mission to "set the Fairtrade Standards, support, inspect and certify disadvantaged producers and harmonize the Fairtrade message across the movement."

Today 20 independent labelling organizations are members of FLO, in the U.S. TransFair USA is the FLO certifying organization. These organizations certify an ever growing list of commodities including coffee, tea, sugar, fresh fruits, cocoa, rice and vanilla. These products are certified before they are imported into participating markets and are then given the right to use the Fair Trade label on packaging.

However, not all products lend themselves to Fair Trade certification the way farmed commodities do. Although coffee has been Fair Trade's flagship product, sales of fairly traded arts and handcrafts have grown significantly over the past five years. These products are not certified by a member of FLO and do not carry a Fair Trade label.

Instead organizations of retailers and wholesalers who offer goods that adhere to the clearly established Fair Trade criteria have been formed to monitor businesses as opposed to products. For example the Fair Trade Federation in the U.S. is an association of hundreds of businesses that have agreed to follow the principles of Fair Trade for 100% of their inventory.

All this means that, as a consumer, you need to look or ask for one of two guarantees that the product you are thinking of purchasing is indeed Fair Trade. Look for either the FLO or TransFairUSA certification mark on the packaging of the product or, if you are shopping for arts and crafts in the U.S., look for the Fair Trade Federation logo in the window of the business or ask the owner if the shop is a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

Sources: FLO International, Fair Trade Federation, TransFairUSA