How do Fair Trade Retailers Adhere to our Shared Principles?

In June, I added a blog post, "Our Values, Our Fair Trade Principles", and from this post I have had several comments from multiple perspectives. With the goal of making issues faced in Fair Trade transparent, I have decided to make room for commentaries from producers, retailers, networks, and advocates by providing space for continuing a discussion that I believe desperately needs to occur. As you read this and feel you have something to contribute, I fully encourage your contribution in the comments below.

When we look at Fair Trade as a global system, on one end you have Producers of Fair Trade products that are closely scrutinized in their adherence to the principles of Fair Trade in the various certification systems. However, there remains a question of Fair Trade retailers - how are they adhering to our principles? In particular is the question about the large Fair Trade chains, are they in the words of one Fair Trader, simply becoming "an outlet for exclusive WFTO products"? Several times the question came up about Fair Trade retailers and importers not necessarily being held accountable to Fair Trade Producers.

http://www.indochinenatural.com/

Indochine Natural, an all-natural soap producer, established by Dr. Mike Thair and his wife, Linh are in the process of becoming a WFTO-Asia member. I met with them on this Journey and witnessed firsthand how they put Fair Trade principles into their everyday practices. In the post on Values and Principles he made a few observations worth noting here: 

While there is a lot of focus on Producers and their adoption of these principles, what about the retailers themselves? Are they offering employment opportunities for the disadvantaged in their own communities and capacity building? Is there adequate transparency with customers on retail pricing? 

I would like to see these Principles applied across the entire Fair Trade supply chain. OK, the retailers are providing outlets for Fair Trade products, but I think it needs to be more than this.

http://playingfair.com.au/

Retailer, Playing Fair, added to this comment concerning their role as a retailer and the role of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand (FTAANZ):

I'll second what Indochine Natural said. As a retailer there is more to the business than just being an outlet for exclusive WFTO endorsed products. What about the role I play in the local collective, or the info I send out about FTAANZ with each order? I really need to sit down and make these part of a mission statement, so that they are properly accounted for and in the forefront of my mind as I go about the daily business.

Jose, a Fair Trade advocate in Spain, wrote his perception on this issue:

I must say that I would also LOVE to see these Principles applied across the ENTIRE Fair Trade supply chain.

I believe the whole Fair Trade chain and consumers should be more aware of ALL conditions and demand more transparency and commitment to FT principles "here and there". 

 
From my own experience as a volunteer in PeaceCraft, a Fair Trade retailer in the US, I knew there were some really outstanding retailers that held themselves accountable to Fair Trade Principles and actively promoted local Fair Trade Movements whether they were student initiatives on campus or a citizens movement for trade justice. Some retailers have committed to expanding Fair Trade locally not just in terms of sales and awareness raising, but by supporting local disadvantaged communities as well. 

However, in other cases there is a sense that a Fair Trade retailer is little different from any other retail shop. Essentially they simply use Fair Trade as a marketing ploy to increase sales to the socially conscious and do little more than that. These retailers are easy to spot, you can walk in and see the colorful displays with an array of beautiful uniquely cultural crafts, coffees and chocolates, but not much else:

• No information about Fair Trade or about producers who made the crafts (See Principle 3: Trading Practices) 
• There is little connection between the shop and the major issues Fair Trade engages with such as addressing global trade injustice, or empowering women with income generating activities promoting their cultural heritage (See Principle 1: Creating Opportunities for Disadvantaged Communities; and Principle 6: Commitment to Non Discrimination, Gender Equity and Freedom of Association) 
• No ongoing Shop-Based Advocacy, little-to-no information on how to get involved in the global Fair Trade movement, and no mention of Fair Trade initiatives or events in the community (See Principle 9: Promotion of Fair Trade) 
• No price breakdown for customers to see the percentage of the sale as a product moved through the supply chain describing what percentage of the sale goes to the producer, to the shipping and handling, and to the store itself to cover overhead and staff (See Principle 2: Transparency and Accountability, and Principle 4: Payment of a Fair Price)  
• No information on how they contribute to the development of Fair Trade Producer groups outside of sales (See Principle 8: Providing Capacity Building) 
• Not disclosing information related to their impact on the environment (See Principle 10: Respect for the Environment) 
• And in these nonchalant retailer shops, the staff are not even familiar with the ten principles of Fair Trade (Read: "Our Values, Our Fair Trade Principles")

If you are a retailer reading this blog, or a socially conscious consumer and this description sounds like your local Fair Trade shop, I suggest it is time for a change! Even more so if your shop is a member of a chain of Fair Trade retailers... 

Fair Trade Retailers have an obligation 

     to follow the same principles as the producers.

With that said, I went in search of an example of a local Fair Trade shop and member of a Fair Trade chain dedicated to expanding Fair Trade locally by providing opportunities for a disadvantaged group in their community to enter Fair Trade. I owe a special thanks to Maryann Wohlwend, a Board Member of the Ten Thousand Villages store in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA, for her contribution to this long overdue blog post. Maryann is truly a Catalyst for Social Change in her community, bringing various social interests and businesses together for a common purpose! Her's is an inspirational story of commitment,  devotion, insight and reflection. For this reason I have reprinted her email in its entirety, and the emphasis placed throughout are her own:

Hello Mitch~great to hear from you.  Excellent posting, as usual, and I am encouraged to read the comments of those who sincerely seek to make a difference and discuss these issues... My work for both, Lydia's Purse International & as a regional Board Member for a Ten Thousand Villages store in Cleveland Hts, Ohio allows me to see both sides of these coins.  

I had considered shipping myself, working with groups in the Philippines and India (for LPI), and have concluded that it is best for small producers to start by selling within their local markets. When I considered the impact of these small groups being truly self-sustaining, I discovered how powerfully they can take the lead in strengthening their communities! Their retail presence introduces customers to the need ~ they have the opportunity to communicate & educate consumers on FT principles ~ when the consumer has been engaged, they can be invited to participate in the solution as a customer or a volunteer of the producing organization, or as a donor to supply needs, network on their behalf & meet long term goals for the organization. 

Working within my own local community, Lydia's Purse International's presence in NorthEast Ohio is accomplishing just this!  Our mission is to Empower Women of Excellence ~ "Sewing Handbags & Sowing Hearts".  We believe that when a woman comes to know her True Worth & Great Value as a child of God, and is provided an opportunity WITHIN COMMUNITY to quickly learn a new confidence-building skill~and this is most important ~ ENCOURAGED & having FUN alongside a volunteer who is sharing the process WITH her, not lording authority over her, a woman passing through a rescue mission has a chance to break the cycle of generational poverty!  It is truly a mustard seed of Global Change!!

You see, within the past 18 months, since sharing the Vision of Lydia's Purse International (via word of mouth, blog, a simple marketing trifold & selling handbags), we have received mountains of donated fabrics from the Ohio Design Center Showrooms, as well as other area fabric & furniture stores, seamstresses & ZERO Landfill organization.  The ladies who work in these interior design showrooms will go so far as to rescue discarded swatches from their dumpsters ~ to provide for the local Lydia's Purse class & keep them from mounding area landfills!!  

Along this supply chain, we have educated and engaged retired sewing teachers & area philanthropists to beFRIEND and encourage the Participants, as Volunteers in the classroom ~ and beyond!  These volunteers are so inspired by the Vision that some continue the friendships when the Participants have graduated from the rescue mission, or they have brought donors to our door, providing brand new sewing machines and resources to operate the class and send Level III graduates off with brand new sewing machines of their very own!!  

Participants who are in the long term care of the rescue mission offer to make handbags (from the rescued & rePURPOSEd design swatch fabrics) for inventory sales (which raises extra operating funds) while they continue to make friends and receive deeper discipleship training.  Volunteers, rescue mission staff, even I am still making handbags to contribute to sales.  

Our collections have found a niche in area independent FT stores, produce markets, home parties & coffee shop sales events.  Even the rescue mission is able to host sales events for staff & the public, as all sales are handled by my company, MaryannDesigns, ltd.  My company then retains a small percentage of profits (toward operating costs & expenses), while donating the greater portion back to the non-profit rescue mission, which hosts the class and provides the inventory. One local, well-established market, even donates the space we use to sell handbags and share the Vision, without requiring any repayment in return, its owner simply wanted to use his business in a generous & responsible way!!

In the past 18 months, the branches of our little tree have sprouted and Lydia's Purse International has sold hundreds of bags ~ each reflecting the story of a Woman who was discarded by society & discovered a new purpose and HOPE ~ the perfect metaphor for the handbags they are creating!  Even the pattern's 4 panel design reflects the Vision of Empowerment within community: 4 unique fabrics, representing women from different facets of Life, coming together to form a beautiful & functional commUNITY!!

In my former business, MaryannBags, ltd, I created one of a kind silk handbags, priced to compete with other brand-recognized items of "quality".  When we first started selling the collections of Lydia's Purse International, I priced the handbags a little higher than the market for competing FT items... only to realize that the Vision, which the bags represent, is Priceless (and frankly, we weren't selling too many)!!  My own way of thinking about quality vs quantity was transformed, and we established a new retail price (which was a bit lower than the original wholesale cost).  The new retail prices, $12 for an extra large MarketBAG and $10 for a medium ShopTOTE, now attract customers who, when they learn about the Vision, will often purchase for themselves, family, friends & as meaningful gifts ~ and also, because we have not "dictated" the items' great Value by overpricing, some customers donate monies above and beyond their receipt, to support the Vision, Mission & Women of Lydia's Purse International!!  

As a current Board Member of our local Ten Thousand Villages store, also, I have no misgiving about their Mission to only support & sell the products of select Global artisan groups, sharing their stories in North American markets.  Yes, they are a large, well-established FT retailer now, and were a leader 60 years ago, when founded, simply, by a woman on a missions trip with a Vision.  

There's a place for all of us who have a desire to "Be the Change we want to See".

As a little girl who dreamed of seeing the world, I could never have imagined that my path would lead through a meadow on the French Alps, overlooking the City of Geneva ~ praying for the nations of the World... to dusty, rural villages in southeast India ~ listening to stories of young widowed mothers hoping for a better Life...to the 1st Lydia's Purse class a half hour away from home ~ seeing smiles begin to form on the faces of women who have just learned to sew...and replying to an email request for a new class in Morogoro, Tanzania ~ to empower Swahili women who are quite literally dying for lack of HOPE!

One of the foundational verses for Lydia's Purse International is found in the Heart of God, written by Paul in a letter to Corinth, and handed down for generations of those who support the value of all.  1Corinthians 1:26-29 "Brothers & Sisters, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him."

The greatest commandment we have been given to live by is to Love our Neighbors as we Love ourselves.  Each person has seeds of education & experience to sow, resources to refresh others or the light of compassion to cheer those in need.  There is UNITY in commUNITY, and a self-sustaining mission can truly strengthen a local region...and inspire Change in the Global Economy!

Are you Blooming where you are planted?

Mitch ~ this was meant to be a simple reply that grew and grew into an overdue blog post!!

Please feel free to contact me!!

I look forward to hearing from you,

Maryann Wohlwend

Maryann's commitment to localizing Fair Trade in her community is exemplary. Honestly, if Fair Trade is to be relevant in every community where a retailer exists, there needs to be a similar effort to provide opportunities beyond simply offering socially conscious purchases and feeling good about it. Fair Trade Retailers have an obligation to follow the same principles as the producers.

What struck me most about her story was how she was able to connect interest groups such as Zero Landfill and local businesses that embrace social responsibility such as the Ohio Design Center Showrooms. Furthermore, she found outlets for sales in independent Fair Trade shops, local produce markets, home-based activities, coffee shops, and one marketplace which donates space for selling and sharing the vision of Lydia's Purse.


Back to the Fair Trade retailers... in February I wrote a blog post, Catalysts for Social Change. In that post I included a Fair Trade Advocacy Matrix which I have added here. This matrix is useful for initiating or reinvigorating a Fair Trade Awareness Campaign in your community regardless of where you reside. The purpose is to begin brainstorming on how Fair Trade can become a reality in your community by raising awareness through Shop-Based Advocacy, in religious institutions, with social networks, amongst students, on campuses and to mobilize activists. 

Fair Trade Advocacy Matrix, Mitch Teberg, MA, 2011

Fair Trade retailers are essential to the equation and how they integrate the principles of Fair Trade is important to the Movement as a whole. Our efforts to Make Trade Fair can begin by reviewing the current practices and activities of our retailers and identifying areas for improvement.

If you have a story you want to share on how your store is central to an advocacy campaign; promoting Fair Trade through ongoing creative cultural activities; or involving community organizations in the movement, feel free to share it in the commentary below. 

Special thanks to Dr. Mike Thair of Indochine Natural in Malaysia, Nadiah from Playing Fair (Australia), Jose of Spain, and Maryann Wohlwend of Ten Thousand Villages / Lydia's Purse in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA.

Chou, I and Little Journey thank you for joining us in our ongoing Journey for Fair Trade now based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Feel free to leave comments, thoughts and ideas below! 

Mitch Teberg, MA 

The commentary below is terrific and brings up important points, please read and add your thoughts and experiences!  A few additional points: 

1. As requested, I have placed this post and discussion into a downloadable PDF file for easy reading in black and white. I may do this for other posts as well if the demand is there. Let me know your thoughts.
2. Word limit on commentary is set by Blogger (Google), feel free to add more than one comment - this is a very important discussion that needs to be aired! If you are a user, log in, that entitles you to longer commentary too.
3. If your comment disappears when you post it, it may have gone into Spam box. If that is the case, I will retrieve it and post it. 
4. Feel free to leave your name, organization and links to your organization in the commentary!

To read this blog post in B&W on PDF:
How Do Fair Trade Retailers Adhere to Our Shared Principles

Franchising Fair Trade

Our time in the Philippines has come to a close. Admittedly, we have learned many lessons from the Fair Trade movement here, but amongst the most valuable lessons here is how to introduce Fair Trade in local markets. Not surprisingly, many Southern Fair Trade Organizations (FTOs) have overlooked local community and national markets as they focused on exporting to the North. The reasons for this neglect center on the low levels of awareness of Fair Trade in the South; inherent challenges to enter local markets without external support; and the existing focus on catering, marketing and exporting to the North. “How and where do we start?” are often the first questions they face before attempting to enter domestic markets. 

I see the Philippine Fair Trade movement is working together to establish a united foothold in the local market. One of the first organizations I met when I arrived in Manila last month is the main organizer of this concerted effort: Advocates of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc. (APFTI). They work in close collaboration with the WFTO - Philippines. 

APFTI is an organization of expert marketers, networkers and advocates motivated by a genuine entrepreneurial spirit. Executive Director, Vincent Roaring explained the driving mechanism of APFTI, “If we are successful, we are successful in our mission. It is a mission, but it is the drive in our heart that really matters. We have to go beyond what is physically available to us. APFTI is run by social entrepreneurs; emphasis on social entrepreneurs. What is a social entrepreneur? Whatever he receives, whether it is 30% of the resources, he is committed to 100% of the mission. That is the spirit of APFTI; give us half of the resources, we will take care of 100% of the objectives.”

At this time,  one of APFTI's missions is the expansion of Fair Trade into the local markets. How to expand local markets has been an issue the social entrepreneurs of APFTI grappled with for the past couple years. Their solution: A national chain of Fair Trade Shops! They began implementing their project in 2009, and have learned a lot in the process of starting with four locally operated shops in Cebu, Bohol, Naga and Cagayan de Oro. Interestingly enough, each shop showcases local producers as well as cater to the market interests of local buyers.

Jennifer Garand, the Marketing Consultant at APFTI, went on to explain the management of the initial Fair Trade Shops. “These four shops, they are not really owned by APFTI, it is a partnership. APFTI partners with existing Fair Trade producers in the area as in the case with the Fair Trade Shop in Cebu where we partnered with Southern Partners Fair Trade Center (SPFTC), a known Fair Trade producer in the area; in Cagayan de Oro, with Salay Handmade Paper Industries. They are both members of WFTO – Philippines. In the case of SPFTC, it is an existing shop they converted into a Fair Trade Shop. It is really successful. In Cagayan de Oro, they were about to close the shop because they were losing money. Then we talked to them about the idea of a Fair Trade Shop, and after a year they are very happy. They doubled or tripled their sales and doing well now. The key is to partner with an established organization in the area.” 

If anyone thought opening a few Fair Trade Shops in a market with little-to-no awareness of Fair Trade sounded ambitious, how about starting a nationwide Fair Trade franchise? Now Imagine this:

20 Philippine Fair Trade Shops by 2015! 

Jennifer spoke about the shop operations. “At the moment it is 100% owned and operated by our partner, but that is not our plan. For the next 20+ shops, APFTI will be directly involved in management of the shops. At the moment we just assist them in the promotions and advocacy, and of course supply.” To initiate this effort, APFTI has received assistance from EU funders, but they do not plan to remain dependent on those donors. Many hard lessons have been learned from the recent economic crisis that continue to haunt the Fair Trade producers throughout the South. 

In the North, a Fair Trade shop may have reduced or stopped ordering altogether in order to weather the economic crisis, but in the South when every buyer you supply suddenly takes the same action, the impact is amplified and a global crisis becomes very personal. Honestly, every time I mention it with managers of Southern FTOs, I see a sadness reflected in their eyes; there is a sense of abandonment and disillusionment that trade is not all it promises to be, whether mainstream trade or Fair Trade, all is subjected to the same whims of a globally interconnected market.

Admittedly, to make Fair Trade Shops sustainable in the Philippines will be a real challenge. Essentially, it is a nationwide test to prove the viability of Fair Trade as a business model in local markets. Talk about putting it all on the line! Vincent noted that the strategies must be amended, “Adjustments will have to be made to ensure it is sustainable. If we see at some point the donors will disappear, or they are so fatigued, or EU organizations cannot assist, we need to make sure it is sustainable. That is a principle in Fair Trade.”

Shop-Based Advocacy

When we visited the leading Fair Trade Shop in Cebu, I asked SPFTC Director, Gigi Labradores about the motivating factors for opening the shops. She enthusiastically replied, “We thought Filipinos should be able to taste the products that we produce, not only foreigners. And then they should also see that there is a business that is socially oriented and fair, but it can be able to provide for the needs of workers; ensure the supply chain does not trample the rights of other people, but it is still competitive in price. It is also something we would like our countrymen to know, in Cebu and elsewhere, so it was an advocacy on trade justice and at the same time we are concerned for workers.”

Gigi shared about opening the Cebu Fair Trade Shop, “I guess we were a bit aggressive. We loaned a certain amount to put up the renovations. There were some problems with carpentry at that time so there were additional costs. We repainted the shelves and everything. The whole look was changed. The next thing was what to put into the shop. If we only put our products and if we only think about Cebu products, it will not be attractive to other buyers and Cebu is very particular; health and wellness products. So we had to be sure that our producer network and the WFTO partnership, and community members of other members could bring their products to Cebu.”

Perusing the Cebu shop you can find mango juice, kalamasi juice, virgin coconut oil and dried mangoes aligned on the shelves; decorative handmade cards from Salay in Mindanao, attractive handmade soaps, and fashionable handbags made of recycled materials; decorative crafts and gift items that tempt any buyer who is contemplating the perfect gift for a friend or loved one; and locally made cookies and Filipino coffee. They even have rice coffee!  Gigi described the customer preferences, “In our experience people come, like foreign tourists, they chose juices and dried mangoes. When locals come, they go for the health and wellness and there are also orders from companies for recycle products. This is the particulars of our market. We had a big order last December from companies for recycled bags. That was one of the big sale items in December.

Much to their surprise, the sales in the Cebu shop more than tripled in the first month of operation, and with a concerted awareness raising effort, sales have steadily climbed. Gigi shared her experience, “I think the advocacy work helps a lot in promoting all the things that you do, every month you have to be known, published in media, interviewed, to have activities so people can come to the shop. We partner with other civic organizations. It improves the sales.

If you want to expose what Fair Trade is and how it is able to address poverty in a country or a community that we commit to and serve, we should be able to make ourselves known and be visible. Fair Trade is not just a philosophy that adheres to addressing poverty, it is also a product that enhances or embraces quality. It respects the rights of people and producers and at the same time it takes care of the needs of consumers. So, we need to showcase and let Fair Trade be known. The product quality edge; we believe, if people can know, they can have a choice. There is a dried mango and other products that do not use preservatives and can be available locally.” 

Gigi went on to explain the function of the shop as a showpiece, “That is why we talk about advocacy and why we had to put up the shop. It is not just for income, is also the basic point for advocacy. People will not understand your thoughts if they don’t see anything concretely. Like this mango, it is produced in Cebu, we partner with these communities, and this is coming from the indigenous group. So people come, they appreciate what is being done, they know more and understand this is Fair Trade.” 

One thing Chou noticed was how the WFTO Philippines functions as the center of a strong national network of FTOs, while APFTI Fair Trade Shops are localized centers for producers to network and get involved in Fair Trade activities and advocacy in their community. Local shops were empowering local producers, making Fair Trade tangible to their neighbors! 

Out of a driven interest to learn more about this up and coming franchise, Chou and I flew to Mindanao to visit the Fair Trade Shop in Cayagan de Oro operated by Salay Handmade Papers. We met with Raelita Legaspi, the APFTI Consultant in northern Mindanao. She explained the suppliers of the products sold in the shop as members of WFTO Philippines. To this she added, “Some of those who display their product here are on their way to become WFTO – Philippine members.”  One strategy they have for enticing local producers to join Fair Trade is to provide market opportunities for their products in local Fair Trade Shops. Making Fair Trade accessible to producers is an important lesson here.

Rae described her current project in APFTI, “When we see that they are marginalized and see that their products have potential in the local market, we help them by giving them product development services, design and packaging services so their products become more attractive to the market. Then we help them sell in shops like this, but our efforts don’t stop there. We have a lot of activities with other sectors."

Youth and the Spirit of Volunteerism 

Rae went on to explain, "In the Philippines, there is no Fair Trade market to speak of because we relied on foreign buyers. It is only now they have been hearing about Fair Trade. It is very important for us to reach out. One of the sectors we think are very receptive to Fair Trade is the youth. We even have a youth Fair Trade network in the colleges and universities in the area. They have entrepreneur programs for colleges now and we touch base with these programs. They are in the bracket of 17-21 year olds, very idealistic. 

We rely on a lot of people who like advocacy, who have the heart for Fair Trade and the producers. They like it. I get the students to come help out. The good thing is when we have activities like marketing activities and promotions, they come and volunteer and work with us. In fact, I am the only APFTI personnel in the whole of Northern Mindanao. It becomes difficult because I am also in a project helping farmers and that covers a lot of rural areas in Mindanao I have to visit. We rely on partners and volunteers to help us with marketing Fair Trade products. We have partners in one of the schools and when they have a Foundation Day event, they ask us to bring products they can sell; anything to show people Fair Trade."

An important lesson needs to be touched on here because in some cultures or socially hierarchical societies, youth are all too often ignored. I challenge you, regardless of where you reside: Never miss an opportunity to engage the youth! Cultivate the interest of youth in the local, national and global Fair Trade Movement! Find ways to expand their exposure to the social issues surrounding Fair Trade locally and globally; facilitate their learning through direct experience; and above all, incorporate their ideas on how to expand Fair Trade! 

What do I mean by that? Listen to them, they are the future! We often forget that the youth of today are the consumers, advocates and community leaders of tomorrow. To harness their interest in addressing social issues their generation faces through Fair Trade is to provide opportunities for them to get involved directly; provide opportunity for the youth to own Fair Trade; empower the youth by opening avenues for them to take action!

Do a quick calculation: It doesn’t matter if you are a producer group in the South or a retailer in the North, how many high schools and universities are you actively engaged with at this moment? How many student clubs or Young Advocate Movements are you sponsoring through talks, experience sharing, or providing volunteer opportunities for? How many Fair Trade products are found on campuses near you? If you find that your ranking is quite high in this regard, I invite you to share your experiences in the comment section below. Find ways to support other Fair Trade movements around the globe by linking with them directly.

If you find there is room for improvement for your Fair Trade Organization or network, write a list of activities you can undertake in the next four weeks in order to engage local youth in your community. I assure you, the impact of your efforts will be felt in the long-term commitments they make to social change. Don’t let these opportunities pass you by. 

During my travels in the Philippines I had many opportunities to share my own experiences as a volunteer in a Fair Trade store near my Alma mater. For me, volunteering there was a formative time. I was encouraged to read about our producer groups and learn about the various social, political, and cultural contexts that shaped their world and influenced their work. I was amazed how in that shop the world became so small. A magical thread woven from the producer to consumer; from one heart to another, across seas, and across cultures, a single purchase united people across the globe. Genuine and true. That is the spirit of Fair Trade.

On a personal note...

There are many lessons to be learned from the development of a Fair Trade Franchise in the Philippines. In this blog I have highlighted a few that I found to be noteworthy. As for additional lessons learned and more of the how-to components, I will write more about those in a future publication which after all, is the purpose of this journey. Originally I was focused on presenting the voices of Fair Trade producers, and as I mentioned in the last posting, I overlooked a vital component of Fair Trade – the Catalysts for Social Change.

However, that is not all I have overlooked. As this journey enters the third month and the inquiry leads me to Indonesia, I see that there is a need to create a more comprehensive publication that is useful for Fair Traders around the globe; something that can present the contextual realities as well as provide practical tools that can be utilized by practitioners, advocates, and consumers alike; to present a common understanding of Fair Trade, the issues it faces as a movement, and reflect on lessons learned. 

I believe we need to go beyond the 50 reasons to buy Fair Trade and understand what is really happening when Fair Trade is introduced to a community. Not only that, but to look at how Fair Trade practices can be strengthened and improved; how to utilize holistic approaches that do more than touch upon social issues, but can be utilized to strengthen communities. For me, a future step is to find that socially aware and conscientious publishing company...

As always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas and suggestions. Your commentary is greatly appreciated. Thank you for joining us as we go to Indonesia to learn about Fair Trade there.

Sincerely,

Mitch Teberg and Chou

Development of Local Markets

In the wake of the global recession, one lesson became clear for “developing nations” in the South: Don’t depend on exports to the North alone!!! Generally speaking, the heavier the dependence on trade with the North the greater the impact of “The Great Recession,” as the World Bank has conveniently boxed and labeled it. For the multitudes of poor in both developed nations and in poor alike, it was much more personal and the effects continue to be felt in long lines of the unemployed and in the households of the underemployed. 

For so long in the shrouded halls of trade negotiations, it has been the promise that trade with the North will save you. The fallacy of this assumption became painfully clear as Northern nations, in an attempt to protect their own economic well-being, greatly reduced imports from the same Southern nations to whom they sold this lie. Even the helping hands from the North cut back their assistance to the point many NGOs and donor agencies greatly reduced their funding for local development programs and projects. In some cases, they were halted or scrapped altogether. Such is the world of empty promises. Better luck next time and thanks for playing. 

This stark reality was also reflected in the alternative market of Fair Trade. A generalized sliding scale was a predictor for the impact of the global recession. The more dependent on exports to the North, the harder the impact on Fair Trade producer groups in the South. The Philippine Fair Trade movement has definitely learned an important lesson.

In recent years there has been a concerted effort to unite Fair Trade Organizations (FTOs) regionally and nationally. The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) based in the Netherlands has increased the room for regionally based networks to expand their influence and unite FTOs with common interests. 

Africa: COFTA

Asia: WFTO-Asia

Latin America: WFTO-LA

Europe: WFTO-Europe

The Pacific Rim: WFTO-Pacific

The WFTO-Asia works with the existing formal and informal networks in Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam. “WFTO ASIA serves as a platform wherein member-organizations share, among each other, culturally sensitive and regionally distinct strategies in the areas of skills and organizational development, technology transfer and access to information. WFTO ASIA fulfills its role as the voice of Fair Trade in Asia by promoting the standards and principles of Fair Trade among various actors at different levels of the value chain. It works to involve producers, workers, service providers, intermediaries, public sector institutions and consumers to the process of bringing about social and environmental justice to the global trading system.” 

In the Philippines, the Fair Trade movement united under the banner of WFTO-Philippines and has been progressively adjusting its national strategy. Amongst the lessons learned in the Great Recession is, Do not depend on exports to the North alone!!!

No matter how well-intentioned the Fair Trade Movement of the North may be, when faced with a recession there is a logical reduction of imports from the South in both mainstream and alternative trade. For this reason it is important that the FTOs of the South learn a valuable lesson and begin to expand their local and regional markets while relying less heavily on the promises and good intentions of North. 

The Fair Trade Movement of the Philippines

My inquiry into the local Fair Trade movement began with meeting Ronald Lagazo, the Director of WFTO-Philippines, which has thirty member organizations. I asked about the recent effort to expand the national market access for local producer groups through the creation of Fair Trade Shops which I had heard so much about. 

“The Fair Trade shops are operated by members, like Saffy is operated by SUFRUDI in Santa Ana, Manila, and SPFTC (Southern Partners and Fair Trade Corporation) in Cebu, and Salay Handmade Paper in Cagayan De Oro, Mindanao (the main island in the south). Right now they are catering to the members of WFTO Philippines. We buy them from them and their products are displayed in the store, so it is the market avenue for some of our members. They may be based somewhere in rural Luzon, but they are supplying products in Mindanao or in Cebu, that is an opportunity for them."

Currently there are thirteen stores operated by FTOs, of which, four new stores are part of a recent development to expand Fair Trade into the local markets. Ronald explained, “APFTI (Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc.) is a non-profit receiving funding for this initiative. The grand design included coffee shops in the stores, more like a deli-café. The partners don’t have so much money or funding, so they can’t afford a real big space to put in a coffee shop at the same time. Instead they started with a retail store first, but I think they want to go there. The funders have been quite impressed with the efforts put into the stores. There are a lot of lessons we learned from this.

The Fair Trade store in Cebu is quite successful in this regard. They do have a fairly regular article coming out about them in local newspapers. They get major coverage for their activities. Some of the media people go and buy from the shops, so they are quite successful with the media engagement. They do a lot of promotions. Gigi Labradores is doing all the efforts to go out of her way to meet people and present products. She networks with a lot of local organizations and people.”

In addition to starting a chain of national Fair Trade Shops, the WFTO-Philippines have established a national set of criteria to become a Fair Trade Organization. “Last year we went full swing with implementation of the agreed upon requirements for WFTO-Philippines members, we had seven organizations apply… 2009 was more of a self-evaluation year.” 

 

Additionally, the WFTO-Philippines established their own Fair Trade label. Ronald Lagazo noted, “We had very good international feedback over the FT-Philippines labeling certification system. For one, the FLO label is very expensive and not accessible to small producers. The application fee is very expensive. The label is meant for the Philippine market. If it goes international and is accepted, that is ok with us, but we never intended it to be for the international arena. Some members were initially concerned about adding another label, but locally this label can differentiate us from other businesses. It is not a problem to add another logo to the labels.”

While talking with Ronald about developing local markets, he mentioned Bote Central as an “interesting case,” but what I discovered is more aptly described as unconventional, even revolutionary in their approach! Because their efforts are so direct, and on the surface they sound so effective, I decided to investigate more closely. Currently, I am in the beautiful mountains of the Philippines to follow up on Bote Central and their approach  to developing Fair Trade in local markets. With this, I will leave you in anticipation of what is to come in the next posting, but one thing I can assure you at this point is that it is a fascinating study and much can be learned here! 

Thank you for joining me in this journey. Feel free to follow this blog and to add your comments, ideas or suggestions as we go.

Sincerely,

Mitch Teberg, MA