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  <title>Green Options &#187; IFAT</title>
  <link>http://greenoptions.com/tag/ifat</link>
  <description>Posts tagged 'IFAT'</description>
  <pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:36:02 +0000</pubDate>
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    <title>Hearing Their Voices: FLO Gives Producers Membership</title>
    <link>http://aliciaerickson.greenoptions.com/2007/08/09/hearing-their-voices-flo-gives-producers-membership/</link>
    <comments>http://aliciaerickson.greenoptions.com/2007/08/09/hearing-their-voices-flo-gives-producers-membership/#comments</comments>
    <pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:36:02 +0000</pubDate>
    <dc:creator>Alicia Erickson</dc:creator>
    
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<img src="/files/683/flo.jpg" alt="FLO" width="338" height="185" align="right" />Fair Trade is growing rapidly at a <a href="http://fairtradecertified.blogspot.com/2007/07/progressive-progress.html">40%</a> 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. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.fairtrade.net/">Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO)</a> was established with the mission to go beyond the basic minimum requirements of both producers and traders by expecting them &#34;to continuously improve working conditions, to increase the environmental sustainability of their activities and to invest in organizational development for workers and small farmers&#34; through progress requirements.
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In November 2006, FLO&#8217;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 (<a href="http://www.claccomerciojusto.org/">CLAC</a>), African Fairtrade Network (<a href="http://www.fairtrade.net/304.html">AFN</a>) and the Network of Asian Producers (<a href="http://www.fairtrade.net/305.html">NAP</a>) all officially became full members of FLO. Raymond Kimaro, Chairman of the African Fairtrade Network (AFN),  <a href="http://www.fairtrade.net/uploads/media/FLO_AR_2007_03.pdf">says</a>
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	… 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.
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From the developed world point of view, Peter Gaynor, head of Fair Trade Ireland <a href="http://fairtradecertified.blogspot.com/2007/07/progressive-progress.html">points out</a>
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	… 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&#8217;s important that we listen to each other and then do what will make the most difference to people in developing countries.
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This is a positive step toward keeping the Fair Trade movement honest to it’s ideals. Similarly <a href="http://coopcoffees.com/committees/outreach/ifat/2007-conference-report">IFAT</a> has producer groups represented by a majority membership, and <a href="http://transfairusa.org/content/certification/producer_CCC_meeting.php">Transfair </a>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 <em>fairness </em>in their trade and make sure treatment of producers is just and their voices are always heard. </p>
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