...Fairtrade and the impact on farmers’ lives Abstract Fairtrade is an organisation with the aim of improving the livelihoods of farmers from developing countries in order to support equality among people. The business is however often in the critique for procedures that are either not helpful for their farmers or even harm the market as a whole. This paper aims at analysing the Fairtrade standards as well as evidence from the literature with regard to the actual impact of the system. The results show that the standards set by Fairtrade are actually fair for their farmers, however a lack of transparency and traceability hinders their proper implementation. Furthermore, Fairtrade standards appear to have even negative effects on farmers that are not part of their organisation caused by rough price competitions as well as on the society as a whole since it hinders an autonomous development of the poor nations. Key Words: Fair Trade, Standards, Developing countries, Livelihood 1 1. Introduction The rising globalization has brought a lot of opportunities to developing countries since their agricultural products can now easily be purchased from all over the world. Due to poor economic, social and political conditions, their producers are however often underpaid and treated badly, while major corporations make the most profit out of it. While moral concerns about the origin of products are arising more and more within the last centuries in the western world, the...
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...that fair trade occupies only a small sliver of the global trade. Some Benefits of Fair Trade: At its core, fairtrade guarantees a decent price for producers by requiring traders to pay a premium, which is passed on to the consumer. This premium insulates the poorest of farmers from fluctuations in the market, disasters, and other extreme events Small-scale Farmers and Workers: The Fairtrade system benefits approximately 1 million workers and farmers in 60 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Including their dependents, five million people are affected. Fairtrade certification allows them to achieve economic independence and empowerment while improving their standards of living. Beyond being paid a fair price for their produce, Fairtrade Premiums enable producers to better their communities by providing: • Improved access to low or no-interest loans • Technical assistance for building infrastructure to improve production • Communications systems, and collectively-owned transport and processing equipment • Better health care and education • Technical training and skill diversification for cooperative members and their families A recent report from FLO-Cert (2011) demonstrates that premiums and sales revenues are reaching these farmers and workers Increases in fairtrade premiums and sales revenues are increasing faster than the reported increase in farmer and worker numbers and producer organizations. |Farmers,...
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...Contents 1 Introduction 2 1.1 Background 2 1.1 Significance of study 4 1.2 Aims and Objective of the Study 5 1.3 Research Questions 5 2. Literature review 6 2.1 Defining private standards 6 2.2 Azerbaijan foreign trade overview 8 3. Standards, Exports and Developing Countries 9 3.1 Historical Emergence and Development of Private Standards 9 3.2 GlobalGAP 10 3.2 Assessing impact of private food standards 11 3.2.1. Impact indicators used in the literature - What to measure? 11 3.2. Impact assessment methodologies: How to measure? 13 4. Empirical Framework 14 4.1 Private Standards as Facilitators to Trade 14 4.2 Private Standards as Barriers to Trade 16 5. Analysis of the Impact of Private Food Standards on Azerbaijan's Export Trade Based On Literature Review Methodology 18 5.1 The General Form of the Literature Review Methodology…………… 18 5.2 Model Construction; Analysis of literature papers reviewed 21 5.5 Results and Analysis 24 6.6 Country differences: An Empirical Analysis 30 7. A Strategic Analysis on How to Protect Azerbaijan National Foreign Trade from Adverse Effects of Private Standards. 31 References 33 1 Introduction 1.1 Background In the last two decades, the increased globalization has seen trade standards take center stage in agri-trade regulations. Private standards have emerged as one of the most important mode of market governance in many countries. As many issues emerge pertaining to implications of food practices...
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...to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil that the strong might not oppress the weak’ with the opinion that fair trade can be used to prevent incredibly rich people and organisations from using trading relationships in the oppression of the vulnerable and weak and impoverished which is what occurs in free trade. (Northcott, 2006) Influenced by theorists such as Foucault and Gramsci, free trade is seen as an ideological instrument to employ ‘hegemonic’ dominance over the world, representing a vital component of the power/knowledge regime intended to sustain the current world order. (Fridell, 2007) According to Charles Elad (2013, pp. 1129), fair trade is an “alternative model of trade that seeks greater equity for small-scale producers...
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...Fairtrade: A form of sustainability marketing Fair trade developed rapidly and the movement is especially popular in the UK, although fair trade was not predicted such a potential future in 1980s. Paull(2011, p.317) reports there are 500 Fairtrade towns, 118 universities, over 6,000 churches, and over 4,000 UK schools registered in the Fairtrade Schools Scheme. Over 1.2 million farmers and workers in more than 60 countries participated in Fair Trade. In this essay it is proposed that fair trade is a form of sustainability marketing. It will first consider there are many similar key facets between fair trade and sustainability marketing. It will then go on to describe that both fair trade minimum price and fair trade premium promote sustainable development. The third part is about securing the rights of workers for paying attention to special sustainability issues. The forth part is about the invisible sustainability relationship between products and costumes. Then I analyze a successful fair trade company towards a sustainable way. Fair trade reflects many key facets of sustainability marketing. On the one hand, according to Belz and Peattie(2010, p.4), sustainability marketing means not only focusing on sustainable development but also considering the sustainability issues. To put it simply, sustainability marketing management aims to meet consumers’ wants and needs, while concerning social conditions and natural environment. On the other hand, fair trade is about better...
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...A sustainable coffee market A case about sustainable enterprising www.hbodio.nl/english 2 Alice O, Amsterdam © 2007 Alice O education in a global perspective Oostenburgervoorstraat 90, 1018 MR Amsterdam Email: alice@aliceo.nl Telephone: +3120 620 48 15 Website: www.aliceo.nl/english All rights reserved. Nothing from this publication may be copied, saved in an automated databank or be made public in any form or manner without prior written permission from Alice O. The case may be copied for students on condition that Alice O receives information about the use of the case. If used, the person responsible at the educational institution must send an e-mail to m.oyevaar@aliceo.nl. In this e-mail name, address, type of education and contact person should be mentioned as well as an estimation of the number of students using the case. The case can be downloaded for free on www.hbodio.nl Coordination: Daniël van Middelkoop: Martin Oyevaar: d.vanmiddelkoop@aliceo.nl m.oyevaar@aliceo.nl October 2007 www.hbodio.nl/english 3 Contents Introduction ..............................................................................................................5 Background ...............................................................................................................6 1. Corporate Social Responsibility and the coffee sector ......................7 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 8. Fair Trade.......................................
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...britain ’s bruisin g banana wars Why ch threat eap bananas Policy en farmers’ report future s A Fairtrade Foundation Report February 2014 When I sell a box of bananas it’s a product with quality, with incredible taste, so it should be fair that you pay a fair price for it. Horatio Hernandez Coobafrio Co-operative, Magdalena, Colombia January 2014 contents 1 Introduction 4 2 6 Executive Summary Britain’s Bruising Banana Wars 16 16 20 21 4 The banana value chain 4.1 The UK banana market 4.2 The retail price of bananas in Britain 4.3 UK banana imports 2002 – 2013 4.4 Changes in banana supply chain operations 4.5 The impact of supermarket price wars on producers 4.6 Producer prices vs costs of sustainable production 22 22 23 5 The market environment for bananas 5.1 Evolution of the global banana trade 5.2 Consolidation of retailer power and UK price wars 5.3 The impact of competition law on banana prices 38 6 Fairtrade’s alternative approach 6.1 General background to the Fairtrade system 6.2 Fairtrade bananas – scope and scale 6.3 airtrade: the benefits and F constraints for farmers and workers 2 3 About this report 3.1 Fairtrade’s involvement in bananas 3.2 Research objectives and approach 3.3 Methodological note 7 Achieving a sustainable banana industry 7.1 inclusive market An ...
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...anywhere in the world and not be able to purchase a cup of joe. And it is big business too. Since 1950 coffee production has grown by almost 200 percent, and after oil, coffee is the most important traded commodity in the world.[i] Coffee is so prevalent affluent societies take it for granted as an affordable part to their everyday life. For the growers in developing countries, although they may rarely drink the product they produce, it is their livelihoods. This paper will take a look into the past and present of coffee and evaluate and present solutions, both environmentally and socially, for the continued sustainability of the world’s most influential drink. A History of Exploitation To understand the implications of coffee’s impact on society and the global economy, it is important to start at the beginning. Coffee berries were first eaten by slaves who took it with them as they were taken from what is present day Sudan to Yemen and Arabia. This is where coffee as we know it today was born. It is believed that the first beans were roasted and brewed around 1000 A.D. in Arabia. By the 13th century, coffee was a common drink among Arabs and coffeehouses were opened in Mecca and throughout the Arab world. By the 15th century, coffee was cultivated as a crop throughout Arabia. However, the Arabs banned the exportation of coffee and made exported beans infertile in attempts prevent its cultivation in other areas.[ii] It was hard to keep coffee to themselves for long...
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...fiercely competitive global environment which is as a result of globalisation, population increment and development of new technologies. On the basis of food food supply chain’s dependency on these scarce resources, sustainability of food has to be adopted through various approaches – the conventional approach (freetraide food supply chain) and the alternative approach (fairtrade food supply chain). This report focuses on sustainability, challenges of sustainability, key reasons for sustainability, food supply chain sustainability theme as well as a critical examination, analysis and appraisal of the fairtrade food food supply chain as advocated by Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade International and the normal freetrade food food supply chain through a comparative analysis which is based on consultation of materials from Fairtrade Foundation, Fairtrade International as well as other secondary sources (such as textbooks, articles, journals and websites). The report concludes that freetrade is a better option to manage the partnership between producers and consumers within a food food supply chain. However, fairtrade could still flourish if its techniques and principles are exposed to a continuous external and internal scrutiny against the continuous movement of the forces of demand and supply which always shape the dynamic nature of the competitive market. Executive Summary i 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Aims and Objectives 3 1.2 Research Methodology 3 2.0 Sustainability...
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...Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I illycaffè: Value Creation through Responsible Supplier Relationships Francesco Perrini and Angeloantonio Russo SDA Bocconi Francesco Perrini and Angeloantonio Russo prepared this case study, as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a business situation. Copyright © 2007 SDA Bocconi University and EABIS. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the express permission of SDA Bocconi University and EABIS. About the Project This case was written as part of a project on “Curriculum Development for Mainstreaming Corporate Responsibility,” coordinated by INSEAD and London Business School and supported by the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS). The project aims to develop degree and executive programme designs and teaching materials that will assist the process of mainstreaming the area of corporate responsibility into core disciplines in management education and increasing its inter-disciplinarity. Within this context, EABIS members from across Europe have been invited through an open call to submit case proposals with the intention of developing a range of cases across a number of subject areas for use by mainstream faculty. The open...
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...Toward Sustainability The Roles and Limitations of Certification Final RepoRt June 2012 prepared by the Steering Committee of the State-of-Knowledge assessment of Standards and Certification Toward Sustainability The Roles and Limitations of Certification Steering Committee Mike Barry Head of Sustainable Business, Marks & Spencer Ben Cashore Professor, Environmental Governance and Political Science; Director, Governance, Environment and Markets (GEM) Initiative; and Director, Program on Forest Policy and Governance; Yale University Jason Clay Senior Vice President, Market Transformation, World Wildlife Fund Michael Fernandez Director of Public Policy and Global Partnerships, Mars, Incorporated Louis Lebel Director, Unit for Social and Environmental Research, Chiang Mai University Tom Lyon Director, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan Patrick Mallet (Steering Committee chair) Director of Credibility, ISEAL Alliance Kira Matus Lecturer in Public Policy and Management, London School of Economics and Political Science Peter Melchett Policy Director, Soil Association Michael Vandenbergh Professor of Law, Tarkington Chair in Teaching Excellence; Director, Climate Change Research Network, Vanderbilt University Jan Kees Vis Global Director, Sustainable Sourcing Development, Unilever Tensie Whelan President, Rainforest Alliance RESOLVE Staff Abby Dilley Vice President of Program Development Jennifer Peyser Senior Mediator Taylor...
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...THE MARKET FOR ORGANIC AND FAIR-TRADE COFFEE Study prepared in the framework of FAO project GCP/RAF/404/GER “Increasing incomes and food security of small farmers in West and Central Africa through exports of organic and fair-trade tropical products” September 2009 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed...
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...We started the ‘Tony’s in more more stores, including supermarkets. Africa’ project: a study of stores, including supermarkets. Africa’ project: a study of Our revenue grows considerably from from cocoacocoa supply chain and Our revenue grows considerably the the supply chain and this pointpoint onward, which also this onward, which also ways ways to improve Fairtrade to improve Fairtrade sharply increases the amount of sharply increases the amount of certification. certification. cocoacocoa beans we need. beans we need. 2o11 2o11 2o05 2o05 2o06 2o06 2o08 2o08 2o07 2o07 The first Tony’s Chocolonely bar bar Tony’s goes official The first Tony’s Chocolonely Tony’s goes official comes on the market, after after episodes comes on the market, episodes and registers with with and registers of the Inspection of ValueValue about the Chamber of of the Inspection of about the Chamber of child child slavery on cocoa plantations Commerce. slavery on cocoa plantations Commerce. in West West Africa. Milk chocolate in in Africa. Milk chocolate in an alarming red wrapper. Fairtrade an alarming red...
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...This title is part of the IDH Case Study Series, published in December 2010. Another title in this IDH Case Study Series is: • nilever sustainable tea, Part II: U Reaching out to smallholders IDH also has a Best Practices Series, whose titles include: • Marketing sustainability • Sustainable sourcing among SME’s • Beyond auditing • Sustainable trading • Retailers and sustainability • Sustainable sourcing and procurement Case study Unilever sustainable tea Part I: Leapfrogging to mainstream y Tania Braga, B Aileen Ionescu-Somers and Ralf Seifert, IMD’s Center for Corporate Sustainability Management Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (Initiatief Duurzame Handel) Utrecht, The Netherlands www.dutchsustainabletrade.com office@dutchsustainabletrade.com Foreword A tipping point happens when a critical mass of people begin to shift their perception of an issue and take action in a new direction. As I look across the global landscape, I feel that we are approaching a tipping point concerning global sustainability. It is catalyzed by at least three important realizations by business, government, and civil society: The first is a realization that the world is finite and that a growing population with a higher ambition for living standards will inevitably lead to a world which will be resource and carbon constrained. The second is the realization that to solve the challenges for this future world we need systems solutions. We cannot solve individual...
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...This title is part of the IDH Case Study Series, published in December 2010. Another title in this IDH Case Study Series is: • nilever sustainable tea, Part II: U Reaching out to smallholders IDH also has a Best Practices Series, whose titles include: • Marketing sustainability • Sustainable sourcing among SME’s • Beyond auditing • Sustainable trading • Retailers and sustainability • Sustainable sourcing and procurement Case study Unilever sustainable tea Part I: Leapfrogging to mainstream Tania Braga, By Aileen Ionescu-Somers and Ralf Seifert, IMD’s Center for Corporate Sustainability Management Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (Initiatief Duurzame Handel) Utrecht, The Netherlands www.dutchsustainabletrade.com office@dutchsustainabletrade.com Foreword A tipping point happens when a critical mass of people begin to shift their perception of an issue and take action in a new direction. As I look across the global landscape, I feel that we are approaching a tipping point concerning global sustainability. It is catalyzed by at least three important realizations by business, government, and civil society: The first is a realization that the world is finite and that a growing population with a higher ambition for living standards will inevitably lead to a world which will be resource and carbon constrained. The second is the realization that to solve the challenges for this future world we need systems solutions. We cannot solve individual problems in silos. The...
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