"Our Values, Our Fair Trade Principles"

Ethical principles form the foundation of the Fair Trade, and when discussing these principles in practice we are really talking about the way business should be conducted around the world on a day-to-day basis, placing people and planet above profit and private gains. The principles are not a political ideology, but sensible, humane and logical aspirations for living on a shared planet.

In the last series, "From Principles to Practices", I focused on the importance of breaking down principles to an everyday occurrence. Coincidentally on June 20th, I received a weekly newsletter from Carola Reintjes, Chief Executive of the World Fair Trade Organization. In this newsletter she presented a terrific idea for promoting Fair Trade principles. With the permission of WFTO, I have reprinted that newsletter here:

Dear members, dear FAIR traders,

 

Shalom, Jambo, Dobar dan, Bula Wantok, Buenos días, Good day, Ciao, Bom dia, Nihao, Asalamou Aleikoum, Bonjour, Mabuhay, Konnichi wa, Namaste!

 

Today I would like to share with you a very simple proposal. I strongly believe in the simple and small things in life. Simple things and small gestures can have high impact, and can potentially change lives.

 

If a journalist asked you what it is that makes you different from other business, some of you might tell a long story, others might just say “We are fair traders”. But when this journalist keeps on insisting (surely a habit which characterizes all journalists around the globe), and asks what makes a Fair Trade Organization different from conventional companies, our answers will be very similar. We might not use the same words, we might express in multiple forms, but we will try to tell the journalist that our business is based on values. Some of us might mention our Fair Trade principles. The journalist will feel our pride when we explain to him/her our value-based approach to production and trade.

 

At the Mombasa AGM we approved our new WFTO Fair Trade System for membership, monitoring and certification which has at its core our 10 principles. We slightly changed the wording of our principles and incorporated the cultural identity into one of our principles. 

 

We would like to challenge you around our 10 principles. Can you imagine yourself, your colleagues, all employees, workers and producers knowing our principles? Just imagine! It would be very powerful.

 

Just imagine a visitor coming to see you, a buyer, a consultant, or an auditor. Imagine whomever he/she asks about your values, about the principles, and about how you incorporate these principles into your daily work, there will not be 50 different answers but only one common answer: a clear reference to our principles, and a clear explanation on how you work with these principles, how your organizations embeds them into your daily work.

 

Now my simple proposal:  

•  Print our Fair Trade principles; 
•  Make sure you only use the recent version approved at the Mombasa AGM; 
•  (Download) the document in English (see below) and Spanish (see at bottom);
•  Eliminate all previous versions from your files, only use this last version; 
•  Distribute copies to your colleagues, employees, workers and producers; 
•  Hang them on your wall at your work-place (desk, table, wall, …); 
•  Assure everybody does the same; 
•  Try to organize a short session every week, or ask for it to be organized; 
•  During the session discuss collectively one of the principles (one every week); 
•  In ten weeks your staff, workers and producers will have gone through a wonderful training on the 10 principles; 
• Tell us about your sessions, tell us about your good experience,  but as well about the problems you come across when implementing the principles; 
• Take photos during the sessions, film your sessions; 
• Share your experience, photos, film, drawings, with us; 
• We would like to share your good experience with other members, we will tell your story to motivate others.

This simple proposal is meant for all of us, producer organizations and marketing organizations, manufacturers and traders, exporters and importers, wholesalers and retailers. Don’t just assume that in your organization people are well trained on our principles, just because your organization has been in Fair Trade business for 20 or 30 years.

 

You might need to translate the principles into your local language/s.

You might need to convert them into graphics, drawings.

We surely cannot make the mistake to be exclusive around our values.  

All of our employees, workers and producers have a right to clearly understand what they are working for. Many hours of their live will be dedicated to Fair Trade, so we better make sure we reach out to all the people we are responsible for.

 

Our Fair Trade principles are our family silver. They make us unique in a highly competitive and exploitative world out there. Let us make sure we dedicate the attention our values deserve, and let us make sure each of the persons we are responsible for in our organization clearly understands and implements each of the principles.

 

We wish you a GOOD week, and an interesting first session,

 

On behalf of the Secretariat,

 

Carola           
WFTO © 2011

WFTO 10 Fair Trade Principles June2011-2

I like this idea because Carola's proposal is practical. It requires no costly effort and is essential to the sustainability of the Fair Trade Movement. More importantly, this activity needs to be done by organizations throughout the supply chain! There are many creative ways to make this a fun interactive and memorable activity. The best way to transfer ownership of these principles is through providing opportunities for staff and workers to teach others!  

The Principles of Fair Trade in Bahasa Indonesia,
at the workshop of a Mitra Bali silversmith

Most producer groups Chou and I met with on this journey had some degree of knowledge of the Fair Trade principles. Admittedly, there was room for improvement for some and an activity such as Carola suggests will definitely improve the situation. When principles are not shared with producers and key people within a Fair Trade Organization it can have disastrous results. In Cambodia, we witnessed how Fair Trade can fail those it is intended to benefit when the principles of Fair Trade were not integrated into the day-to-day operations and were not passed on to empower the craftswomen and men. Admittedly, it was the most challenging post to write because it was contrary to the results I had hoped to publish. 

In that blog post I asked myself, "What do I do when I go to listen to the voices of Fair Trade, but the voices are absent? By absent, it is not that they are missing as in people do not want to share their views on what Fair Trade means to them... I found myself asking, what happens when, for no fault of their own, the very people who you go to listen to, don’t have an answer because they don’t know what you are asking?"  For insight to the personal and organizational effects of disregarding the principles, you can read the blog post:

The Sound of Silence

However, the practice of our shared principles is not for producers alone! I can name at least one American certified Fair Trade importer who could really use Carola's activity (Read: Coffee Part II - "It's not my Problem"), and from what I have heard, it sounds like the problem is more wide spread than we would like to admit. 

Since starting this blog, I occasionally receive emails from people who plan to take similar journeys related to Fair Trade. Sometimes they are socially conscious backpackers, other times they may have something they wish to contribute to the Fair Trade movement and feel that a journey to meet producers is a good approach. Recently, I received an email from a Fair Trade / Environmental Activist in Spain. He shared his plan to conduct a journey of his own to follow-up on Fair Trade. However, as an advocate he expressed a sincere concern regarding the Fair Trade Movement in Spain that should be ringing alarm bells for all of us. With his permission, I reprint part of his email here: 

Hi Mitch,

I've just landed to your blog and I must sincerely congratulate for all your work and investigation in favor of fair trade. I work as environmentalist for Friends of the Earth - Spain, at the same time I'm involved in various non-prof fair trade, social and wildlife groups that keep myself happily busy and always on guard to fight for human and nature rights!!!

After many years involved in fair trade, social issues and environmental protection, I've decided to take a some time off to travel Asia and South America with the aim to visit communities and see if fair trade is really working as a catalyst for social and economic change and to value if we are all working towards building a sustainable future for both humans and nature.

I must say that there is a lack of transparency in FT issues in Spain, all shops buy direct from importers but there is a few information from importers on the real impact on communities: working conditions, families, health, education, rights,...everyone seems to be pretty happy just buying FT goods and no-one ask any further questions. To this point there are quite a few voices raising to demand more information and a real reports and analysis on FT impact on communities....but no-one seems to hear our demands.

In order to solve this lack of transparency and impact issue I've decided to travel to Asia and Latin-América to see things for myself. This journey will keep me on the move for at least two years. If everything works OK I hope to spend a year in Asia and the rest in Latin-América...

Warmest regards from Spain and all the best with your project, you are carrying out a fantastic work !!! 

I am encouraged by his personal commitment to follow-up on the impacts of Fair Trade. However, he also brings up a serious issue that directly relates to the importance of knowing the Fair Trade Principles regardless of where you find yourself in the supply chain. As an importer, retailer, consumer or advocate, how can we promote Fair Trade if we don't share the direct impacts of Fair Trade principles in a community?

One of the main motivating factors for Chou and I to embark on this journey was to learn about and present the impact of Fair Trade on producers. I have been in many Fair Trade shops and I am often disappointed that the only information about the producers is on a small sales tag. Surely Fair Trade retailers can provide more information than that! 

There are many ways to bridge the existing gap between producers and consumers. Here are a few examples that I have seen:

• Provide handouts or brochures that offer links to producer websites.
• Feature a simple one-page summary of a producer group each month with a couple photos.
• Offer opportunities to travel to meet producer groups in near-by locations, or for the adventurous offer Fair Trade travel packages to foreign countries - I recently reviewed a brochure for Fair Trade tourism in Cebu, Philippines! Use the trip to take photos and get their stories to share in the store when you return!
• Bring Fair Trade producers to connect directly with customers for a special occasion or fundraising event.

Information about the producers themselves, their community, the social issues they are addressing, and the impact of Fair Trade can be used as a selling point to connect consumers to producers; a value-added measure big box-store retailers can not offer. Unlike conventional trade, Fair Trade is intended to bridge the distance between producers and consumers; this is exactly the reason importers, retailers, their staff and Fair Trade volunteers could all benefit from Carola's suggestion. 

If the principles are understood throughout the supply chain, the information regarding the impact of Fair Trade is more readily shared! In many cases Fair Trade producers have websites and it is possible to see the impacts of Fair Trade through the information they provide. In other cases producers may not have access to the internet. In either case, the onus of responsibility for providing such information is on the importers and retailers alike. 

As Carola wrote, "We surely cannot make the mistake to be exclusive around our values." Find out how those principles are making a difference and share your findings!

Thank you for following our blog. Chou and I welcome your comments, ideas and suggestions as we delve into the multitude of issues surrounding Fair Trade. 

To be charitable is a virtue; 

     to be empowered is a human right. 

Fair Trade empowers the disadvantaged, integrates the marginalized, and supports the impoverished with viable livelihoods. Click here to donate to the Fair Trade.

Mitch Teberg, MA

Los Diez Principios Comercio Justo June2011

The Start of a Fair Trade Movement in Yogyajakarta!

When Research turns to Opportunity

Yogyakarta, Indonesia is on the international news every once in a while when Mt. Merapi threatens local inhabitants with another volcanic eruption. However, outside of this Yogya is a laid-back city that has the charm and atmosphere of a small town. When I arrived, I was in search of four Fair Trade Organizations (FTOs) based there in hopes of meeting their producers and gauging the impact Fair Trade has had in Javanese communities. However, an unexpected opportunity arose.

If Jakarta is the center of political power in Indonesia, Yogya is the center of academia. Home to one hundred and twenty-two universities with tens of thousands of students from all across the archipelago, Yogya represents nothing less than the future of the country. I can imagine no better place for FTOs to be centered. When I first learned of the existence of so many colleges, my first comment was, “Great!! How many campuses have Fair Trade Movements?” 

Much to my surprise, the answer was: None. 

I had just spent six weeks researching and learning about the strategies and plans of the Fair Trade Movement of the Philippines; it was time to share the lessons I had learned. After interviewing the Directors of three FTOs and on the way to meet their producers in surrounding rural communities, I began talking with them about the strategies of the WFTO – Philippines and lessons learned in cities such as Cebu which is expanding Fair Trade Movements on university campuses. I had separate discussions with each Director and they always came to the same conclusion: we began exploring numerous possibilities for the creation of a local Fair Trade Movement in Yogyakarta. 

Mr. Amir Panzuri, founder and Director of Apikri agreed to hold the first meeting at their office and the others all agreed to come. Novi Kusuma Wardhani founder and Director of Java Ixora, Imam Hidayat founder and Director of Sahani Organic, members of the Ombudsman office in Yogyajakarta, a university professor in Borneo who happened to be on a study tour in Apikri to explore possibilities of introducing Fair Trade to Borneo, and Ms. Mbak Atiek of Apikri. This was the beginning of a new movement in Yogya! More importantly, this is the future of Fair Trade: Fair Trade localized in southern countries and in southern cities!

No longer can Fair Trade only mean 

           Southern Trade to the North. 

It is time for the Global Fair Trade Movement

           To enter a New Era…

Time for Fair Trade to be Expanded 

           and Localized in the South!

But how do you start a movement with founders of organizations that may have the same goals and uphold the same principles, yet work in different communities, utilize different approaches to address an array of social issues, have different trade partners, and may even have different Fair Trade certifying organizations? Well, the first step is to re-define a basic mathematical equation: 1+1 ≠ 2. 

I was looking to create synergy with these leaders, each of whom has a strong personality with extensive experience in Fair Trade; they represent the solid foundations of their respective FTOs.   

Synergy in mathematics: 1+1=11. 

Now imagine 1+1+1+1+1….

Each founding member of the new Yogya Fair Trade Movement understood Fair Trade as a business model very well, they utilized the principles in their daily work. My first task was to present the obvious, so I asked them to work together in small groups with the explicit purpose of identifying...

Fair Trade as a Business Model...

...and Fair Trade as a Movement. 

With the basics covered, I asked the members of the new Yogya Fair Trade Movement to do a self-assessment on a scale of 1-10 (10 being Yogya will be a Fair Trade Town in six months; and 1 being no activities and no movement). The average was admittedly low, but it gave us a baseline. Besides, they were not familiar with the ongoing activities of their fellow members and their respective FTOs, so here we gave time for each member to make a brief presentation. 

As a Movement, we needed to identify areas for advocacy. The groundwork of each FTO here begins with the producers, and their community, so we started from there. Secondly, the local business community is an important area for advocacy, beginning with suppliers FTOs contract with. Thirdly, they identified the local government offices and upwards to the national governmental departments and ministries with whom FTOs collaborate. Fourthly, the universities in Yogya are very influential institutions locally and within Indonesia. Fifthly, the media, whether it is print, television or online social media, these are influential forces and can have a positive impact if harnessed in an advocacy campaign. 

Additionally the local ex-patriots residing in Indonesia and the numerous tourists coming to visit Bali every year already have a high level of awareness of Fair Trade thanks to the millions of euros and dollars spent in continuous awareness campaigns of Oxfam and Maxx Havelaar in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Not to forget, numerous local Fair Trade shops have tremendous impacts in their communities such as the Dutch World Shops and Ten Thousand Villages in the USA and Canada.

Lastly, the local and international NGOs in Indonesia would make for terrific collaborators as they are socially aware and active in a multitude of communities throughout the nation. 

With areas of advocacy listed, next came commitment. By committing to advocacy in a particular area, there is a transfer of ownership from discussing the idea, to forming committees and groups which will lead areas of advocacy. 

In the following meeting a couple days later, members of the Yogya Fair Trade Movement listed universities that they had close connection to, whether it was a connection with faculty, students, university administration, or student organizations. Of the one hundred and twenty-two campuses, there was a direct connection with ten. This was a start! 

Create a Vision!

Next the members listed out immediate, mid-term and long-term goals. Immediate goals center on initiating ten Fair Trade Movements on the campuses they had listed. This included identifying World Fair Trade Day as inauguration day for campus movements; creating a General Secretariat Office to support campus activities and facilitate intercollegiate collaboration; and designing a logo for the new YFTM. 

The mid-term objective is to have 50+ university Fair Trade Movements within three years!!! The long-term objective is that Yogyajakarta becomes the first Fair Trade City in Indonesia! No small ambitions for this group of Fair Traders!

It is my privilege to present the founding members of 

              the Yogya Fair Trade Movement. 

Chou and I look forward to witnessing the wildfire that is about to spread through the university campuses of Indonesia ushering in a new era as Fair Trade is localized! 

Mitch Teberg, MA 

Comments received on my FaceBook page regarding this post:

Sarah Ulina Sinuraya of Mandiri Craft in Yogya wrote: "we'll join it....."

 

Darwin Smith Toapanta Saltos "Fair Trade Movement, this topics will be a model for a Fair Trade Chocolate Movement here in Ecuador. The steps are very precise and the conceptualization of idea; 1+1=11 is applicable - many thanks dear Mitch. I´m taking note - :-)"

Ten Thousand Villages Toronto "So great to see the Fair Trade movement expanding! Keep us posted, Mitch :)"

Angelo Valencia Hi, Mitch, thanks for the updates and keeping the flames afire for the benefit of those who need it the most!

The Second Journey for Fair Trade

I am preparing to conduct a 5-7 month research to write a book on Fair Trade. My purpose is to give voice to the producers, craftswomen and men, artisans and farmers producing Fair Trade products. I have reviewed the current literature on Fair Trade in recent years and I feel there is an important element missing. The Fair Trade movement in the West itself has been well documented, as has the theoretical debates surrounding globalization, neo-liberal economics, etc which have been published by leading economists and others knowledgeable in the field. There are Fair Trade impact studies by development organizations and specialists, and Fair Trade ethnologies documented by anthropologists.

However, I am researching to write a publication that centers on the people and the co-operatives / producer groups in which their lives are entwined; to see Fair Trade from their view point, to capture their story; their narrative.

I found that Fair Trade is comparable to a prism hung in a country kitchen window sending rays of light in a multitude of directions to splash a rainbow of color across the room. Despite having the same origin point, each reflection has a unique size and shape. Fair Trade does the same. When you examine the prism from the West the flat surfaces represent the principles and standards of Fair Trade and depending on what angle you hold the prism, you can focus on one particular issue. A focus can be on areas such as to provide a living wage at the local level free from exploitation; to promote environmental sustainability and longevity through a commitment to organic farming; the empowerment of women and enhancing gender equality through inclusion in decision making processes and equal pay for equal work; to encourage transparency with trade partners and fair dealing when resourcing materials and supplies for the production of crafts; to support grassroots community development projects or social support programs; the enhancement of cultural traditions and crafts in an era of technological gadgetry and rapid urbanization, and so on. All surfaces are equally important.

In 2005, I committed a year to researching the trade partners of PeaceCraft, a member of the World Fair Trade Organization and the US Fair Trade Federation.  I took my savings, loaded a backpack for a year of travel and headed to SE Asia to meet directly with PeaceCraft's trade partners. In my research I found that when one views the same prism of ideals from the their outlook, Fair Trade looks much like the beautiful spectrum of colors in various shapes and sizes splashed around the room. No two reflected areas are alike despite having the same point of reference. I found that organizations, cooperatives and producer groups work together and benefit in ways that differ from each other according to their particular community needs. Contributing factors to a Fair Trade Organization’s uniqueness begins with its origin. As it develops, the influence of predominant social stuctures and sub-cultures in which they operate, along with the personalities within the group, have a combined effect.

Each Fair Trade Organization is unique, and this is the main theme I propose to follow up on in my research. In this second journey, my inquiry is simple: How do the producers, farmers, weavers, artisans, and craftswomen and men perceive Fair Trade and what is the impact it has on their lives?

My wonderful and adventurous partner Thuy Ha, and I will don our backpacks and commence our journey next week beginning with Reaching Out in Hoi An, Vietnam, staying with them for a period of a week, or however long it takes to get a good feel for their voices through meetings, recording stories, photographing, learning perceptions, then blogging and writing. From here we head to Cambodia. This blog is to document our journey as we travel across SE Asia listening to the stories and perceptions of those who produce Fair Trade products, from coffee and tea, to handicrafts and textiles.

During this Journey for Fair Trade I will contribute stories to the Fair Trade Resource Network newsletter as a way to lift the voices of producers, artisans, craftswomen and men, and small scale local farmers. I am hopeful that in the process of my travels you will have an increased awareness as to why Fair Trade is so important. I am doing this research to present the voice of those people who make fairly traded products so you can see how your purchases really do make an important difference in so many lives.

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