The Fairtrade Foundation’s Vision for Transforming Trade
01
Time to tip the balance
Fairtrade is one of the most successful socialchange stories of recent times. From being thepreserve of a committed few, the FAIRTRADEMark is now recognised by three out of fivepeople, and appears on thousands of food,drink and clothing items as well as other goods.In this decade alone, the value of Fairtrade saleshas grown more than tenfold reaching nearly£500 million in 2007. Through Fairtrade, millions of people workingin certified producer organisations feel moresecure and in control of their lives. In the UK,the potential of Fairtrade to make a differenceto global poverty has enthused people in theirroles as both consumers and citizens. Andby working together in their communities, bothends of the Fairtrade movement have securedchanges at national and international level frommajor businesses and governments.But for all this remarkable progress, we stillhave a long way to go to make trade fair. Two billion people – a third of humanity – workhardto supportthemselves yet still struggleto survive on $2 per day or less. Fairtrade isaresponse to this failureof conventional tradeto deliver a better deal to people in the poorercountries of the world. It has shown trade canbe a powerful driver to reduce poverty andpromote sustainable development if only it isclearly directed to those ends.It is by working together in a united movementfor change that we have come this far. Thechallenge now is to take this successful modeland scale up the reach and impact of Fairtradeso that it can begin to truly transformtradein favour of the poor and disadvantaged. Overthe past year we have been listening to ourmany partners, in order to set out our vision forachieving this transformation over the next fiveyears. With your continued support, we cantake Fairtrade to new levels – to tip the balance,if you will – in the years to come.
Mike Gidney,Chair of the Fairtrade Foundation’sBoardof Trustees.
Fairtrade tips the balance to maketrade fair
In Ghana, an elderly cocoa farmer carries a sackofbeans miles from his farmto the co-operative’sstore, where he knows the scales will be accurateand he will be paid for the full weight of his crop.This storycould be repeated time and again aroundthe world with farmers’ use of Fairtrade premiumsto buy their own scales a potent symbol of howFairtrade enables them to take more control overtheir businesses and their lives.
Leave a Comment