| Reports and impact Studies |  | | Private voluntary schemes aimed at differentiating the products flourish on global markets. Among these schemes, “sustainable standards” are aimed at promoting values such as environmental friendliness and fairness. The aim of this paper is to question the fairness of these “sustainable standards”. To do so, we study the distribution of value and power within the conventional and sustainable (organic and fair trade) banana chains. This paper is based on an original six-month investigation that started in the Dominican Republic banana plantations and ended with European global retailers. We show in this article that although the producers do manage to extract a greater share of the rent by participating in sustainable banana chains, the downstream actors are the real winners of the game. More importantly, sustainable banana chains involve the same actors, logistics and relations as their conventional counterparts. All important decisions concerning what must be produced, how and for which market segment are taken by the downstream actor who, in the end, also concentrate most of the power. Download the report
Farmers as shareholders: a close look at recent experience Farmers all over the world are dramatically affected by current markets. Producing fuel from maize on a large scale in the US affects food prices in Mexico. Rising crude oil prices affect fertilizer prices for farmers in Burkina Faso. In most cases, poor rural farmers are the ones most vulnerable to the rapid changes taking place.
Reducing vulnerability is one of the drivers behind this book, which discusses how to include small-scale farmers’ groups in the ownership of the companies that market or add value to their produce. Following the introductory chapter, Farmers as shareholders describes the experiences of four companies – in Ghana, Peru, Rwanda and the Netherlands - that are partly owned by the farmers who supply them with cocoa, coffee, tea or cotton. How did they become shareholders, and what were the benefits and the challenges? Written for ethical investors, international enterprises with branches in Africa, policy-makers, donor programme officers and others, this book presents lessons learned on improving value chain coordination by stimulating producer shareholding.
“The subject is even more interesting and relevant in the present time in which unbridled shareholder capitalism combined with excessive risk-taking have wreaked such socio-economic havoc.The experiences presented in this bulletin should encourage us to think about how we can reshape a globalizing economy and distribute its revenues in a more equitable way.“ Download online brochure
Book details: Authors: Maurits de Koning and Bart de Steenhuijsen Piters, Royal Tropical Institute - Publishers: KIT Publishers
Fair To The Last Drop. The Corporate Challenges to Fair Trade Coffee
By Eric Holt-Giménez, Ian Bailey, and Devon Sampson - FoodFirst, November 2007 This Report from FoodFirst reviews Fair trade initiatives over the last decade, and proposes new strategies to boost its impact.
Enter the fair trade response to the "coffee crisis" - an effort to drive fair trade sales by "mainstreaming" the product in conventional stores. Many fair trade advocates were uncomfortable about the mainstreaming of fair trade products by multinational corporations - the very market structures that provoked the "coffee crisis" in the first place. Some argue that large corporations use fair trade as a PR moment. Are corporations embedding such practices of fairness into their corporate culture, or is it mere tokenism?
The FoodFirst study argues that fair trade success can be attributed not only to certification and sales, but to sustainable local development and social capital developed in farming communities. The study suggests alternatives to "mainstreamed" corporate fair-trade, such as the Fair trade Direct market model in which farmers grow, process, roast, package and distribute coffee - feeding into the local economy and allowing farmers autonomy over the value added process. Looking forward to building "market sovereignty," the report suggests that farmers need to be shareholders in the business of fairtrade and in this dynamic lies the consumer, in solidarity with farmers in the movement for social change
Is Fair Trade a good fit for the garment industry ?
Maquila Solidarity Network - September 2006
Despite the many chalenges in attempting to apply the fair trade model to the garment sector, there is a proliferation of new initiatives promoting 'fair trade' or 'seatfree' apparel products or aiming to certify apparel products or aiming to certify apparel products as being made under decent working conditions.
The emergence of these new initiatives is provoking considerable discussion, debate, and, occasionally, hostibility within and between the antisweatshop and fair trade movements.
Fair Trade Garment Standards: Feasibility Study
Maureen Quigley and Charlotte Opal, Completed for TransFair USA July 2006 Over the past few years a number of brands, retailers, and consumer groups have approached TransFair USA about the potential of extending the Fair Trade certification system beyond its current products to the garment sector. As TransFair’s expertise lies primarily in agricultural products, TransFair commissioned a study to better understand the potential of applying Fair Trade standards to garment production.
The dynamics of Fair Trade as a mixed-form market
By Leonardo BECCHETTI, Benjamin HUYBRECHTS, 2007 Abstract
This article analyzes the Fair Trade sector as a “mixed-form market”, i.e. a market in which different types of players (in this case, nonprofit, co-operative and for-profit organizations) coexist and compete. The purposes of this article are (1) to understand the factors that have led Fair Trade to become a mixed-form market and (2) to propose some trails to understand the market dynamics that result from the interactions between the different types of players. We start by defining briefly Fair Trade, its different dimensions (including the “fair” quality of the products) and its organizational landscape, focusing on the distinction between the pioneer “Alternative Trading Organizations” and the second-mover companies. Then, we recall the theoretical emergence factors for each type of organization (nonprofit, co-operative and forprofit) and apply these emergence factors to the context of Fair Trade. This analysis allows us to capture the specificities of each type of operator with regard to Fair Trade and, thus, to have a better understanding of the competition dynamics in the sector. The latter analysis includes elements on ethical imitation, consumers’ behaviors, effects on welfare and the role of the government, in order to outline some of the major trends in this rapidly evolving sector.
Draft Comparison Codes for Communication Purposes
Created by the SCAA Sustainability Committee (2005)
Comparing Coffee Codes Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Utz Kapeh and the Common Code for de coffee community.
Fair Trade and Solidarity Economy : the challenges ahead
By Véronique Bisaillon, Corinne Gendron et Marie-France Turcotte (UQAM - Québec), November 2005 Concept paper written for the WSSE Dakar, Senegal meeting (Nov. 19-21, 2005): summary report of the Fair Trade Workshop's activities. Since its creation in 1999, the Workshop has examined the issues surrounding Fair Trade and the challenges it faces, and has made proposals for the movement's development. A list of documents used in compiling this summary report can be found in Annex A; most of these are available via the Workshop's website (fairtrade.socioeco.org). They comprise some 30 documents written by Workshop participants. Special attention is drawn to the Proposal Paper for the 21st Century, published in 2002, and the reports of Fair Trade workshops and discussions during the past three World Social Forums In this summary report of the Workshop's activities we start with a general presentation of Fair Trade: its emergence, definition, principles, objectives and successes. We end the first Section by examining the two dominant visions of the movement as identified by the Workshop. We then move on to describe the strategic challenges facing the movement at present. These are primarily certification, distribution strategies, development objectives, the impact of Fair Trade in terms of development and the environment, inequalities, communication, consumer information, possible synergies with other alternative trade initiatives, public recognition and international trade. Finally, this summary report outlines the new paradigm put forward by the Fair Trade Workshop | The Fair Trade Response To The Coffee Crisis. Achievements, Limitations And Prospects of A Voluntary Certification Scheme
Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy Thesis Submitted by Ruth Fend (May 2005) The aim of this study is to determine how effective the Fair Trade system in the case of coffee is at achieving its own goals which are concerned with absolute poverty reduction as well as with social justice understood as redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor. Its analysis of trade relations in coffee emphasizes the simultaneity of a decline in world prices of unprocessed coffee for producing countries and of increasing retail prices in consuming countries, concluding on high profits made by the coffee industry in the rich world while peasants suffer.
The Fair Trade Response To The Coffee Crisis. Achievements, Limitations And Prospects of A Voluntary Certification Scheme
Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy Thesis Submitted by Ruth Fend (May 2005) The aim of this study is to determine how effective the Fair Trade system in the case of coffee is at achieving its own goals which are concerned with absolute poverty reduction as well as with social justice understood as redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor. Its analysis of trade relations in coffee emphasizes the simultaneity of a decline in world prices of unprocessed coffee for producing countries and of increasing retail prices in consuming countries, concluding on high profits made by the coffee industry in the rich world while peasants suffer.
Strategies for Survival: Migration and Fair Trade- Organic Coffee Production in Oaxaca, Mexico
By Jessa M. Lewis University of California, San Diego Working Paper 118 (June 2005) Coffee growers throughout southern Mexico have been negatively affected by low world coffee prices coupled with a steady scaling-back of government support to the agricultural sector. Considerable anecdotal evidence suggests that a major response to the coffee price plunge starting in 1997 has been increasing migration for employment to the United States from southern coffee regions. Another response among some cooperatives in southern Mexico has been to differentiate their coffee by certifying it as high-quality, organic, and/or socially beneficial (Fair Trade). This thesis examines the links among the coffee crisis, migration, and certified production, drawing on a case study conducted in Summer 2004 by the author in a high-migration, Fair Trade-organic coffee-producing community of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Fair Trade in Europe 2005
By FINE Facts and figures on Fair Trade in 25 European Countries
An Introduction to Fair Trade and Cooperatives: A Methodology
July 20, 2005
Coffee, Co-operatives and Competition: The Impact of Fair Trade
By Anna Milford (2004) Chr. Michelsen Institute Devel opment Studies and Human Rights
Fairtrade Certification and SMEs: The Case of a Honey Producer in Kenya
Researched and written by Chris Pay and Jackie McAdam Market Access Centre Traidcraft Exchange, UK (2004/2005) This report explores the background of fair trade in general and FLO, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International, in particular. It then provides a profile of Honey Care Africa (HCA), describing its structure, activities and social agenda. It had become apparent that there is a mismatch between the two organisations, as Honey Care has been unable to acquire the Fairtrade certification that it seeks. This study aims to clarify the nature of this mismatch, and to identify possible solutions. FLO recognises that certain anomalies arise in the existing qualifying standards, and during the course of this study has in fact been addressing the issues involved. As a result certain changes are currently in progress, although not yet resolved.
Impact Assessment Of Fair Trade And Ethical Enterprise Development
By Linda Mayoux This paper focuses on Fair Trade (FT) as an important area of support at the cutting edge of ethical enterprise development. The paper begins with discussion of the underlying aims of Fair Trade and criteria for assessment, the different types of intervention to be assessed, and the stakeholders involved. It then goes on to review some recent impact assessments of Fair Trade, the methodologies used, and findings and challenges faced which have implications for future impact assessments. There follows a framework for impact assessment in the light of this experience. This includes a summary of the practical questions to which impact assessment could make a contribution and outlines the ways in which different methodologies could be used. The final section discusses some of the broader implications for comparative impact assessment of Fair Trade interventions, ethical trade, socially-responsible business development and mainstream private sector interventions.
The Impact Of Fair Trade On Producers And Their Organisations: A Case Study With Coocafe In costa Rica
By Loraine Ronchi (June 2002) Fair Trade attempts to address the poverty issues of small Southern producers through the payment of a ‘fair price’ for their goods and the provision of support services for producer organisations. Although Fair Trade is overwhelmingly identified with the ‘fair price’ paid by participating importers and buyers, sketching the possible avenues of impact reveal that many of the effects of Fair Trade on the quality of life of producers are felt through the organisational development supported by Fair Trade organisations. This study examines the impact of 10 years of Fair Trade in coffee in Costa Rica and reveals the importance of organisational development support for the stakeholders of the nine Costa Rican coffee co-operatives.
Beneficial Impacts of Ecolabeled Mexican Coffee: Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Bird Friendly
One cup at a time. Poverty alleviation and fair trade in Latin America (2003)
Creating Market Opportunities for Small Enterprises: Experiences of the Fair Trade Movement
By Andy Redfern and Paul Snedker, InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment through Small Enterprise Development Job Creation and Enterprise Department, International Labour Office Geneva (2002)
How Fair is Fair Trade?
By Robbert Maseland & Albert de Vaal University of Nijmegen This paper investigates to what extent fair trade programmes, are indeed ‘fair’. This is accomplished by comparing fair trade with free trade and protectionist trade regimes on their compliance of the criteria set by the fair trade movement itself. This comparison is made using comparative cost based and economies of scale models. It is found that whether or not fair trade is superior to free trade or protectionism is highly dependent on a number of characteristics of the products to which fair trade is applied as well as on the circumstances of international trade.
Fair-trade –Benefits and Challenges for Farmers’ Cooperatives– the Coffee Farmer’s experience - Uganda
Poverty alleviation through participating in fair trade coffee networks
By Laura T. Raynolds, Associate Professor Sociology Department Colorado State University (2002) As Fair Trade markets in the North grow, it is critical to develop a more systematic understanding of the Southern experience of this rapid expansion. The growth in Fair Trade will pose both new opportunities and new problems for Southern coffee producers. Identifying the lessons producers have learned could help ensure that the benefits of Fair Trade in the South are maximized and extended as effectively as possible. This overview of existing research suggests that the potential capacity of Fair Trade in helping to alleviate poverty is shaped by (1) prevailing political and economic conditions at global, national and sub-national levels, (2) the internal organization of producer groups and their external links to state, corporate, and NGO groups, and (3) the individual characteristics of producers such as ideological commitment, educational levels, market sophistication, capital and labor resources, and environmental assets.
The Development Impact of Fair Trade: Evidence from the Work of Traidcraft and Challenges for the Future.
By Lake, R., and C. Howe. 1999 Ethical Decision Making in Fair Trade Companies
By Iain A. Davies & Andrew Crane, International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility This paper reports on a study of ethical decision-making in a fair trade company. This can be seen to be a crucial arena for investigation since fair trade firms not only have a specific ethical mission in terms of helping growers out of poverty, but they tend to be perceived as (and are often marketed on the basis of) having an “ethical” image. Eschewing a straightforward test of extant ethical decision models, we adopt Thompson’s proposal for a more contextualist understanding rooted in ethnographic data. Our findings suggest that the fair trade mission of the firm is experienced as an over-riding ethical claim, which is often invoked to justify potentially ethically questionable decisions. Moreover, decision precedents emerge which can mean that the decision process is bypassed or hurried through. Finally we provide evidence that the significance of these precedents, and indeed, even moral intensity itself, could be actively shaped and constructed by organization members to support different, even shifting, conceptions of what is a morally acceptable decision for a fair trade company to make. | Creating Market Opportunities For Small Enterprises: Experiences Of The Fair Trade Movement
By Redfern, A.; Snedker, P, - International Labour Organization (ILO) (2002)
Small enterprises survive and grow only if they can sell their products and services. This Working Paper gives an objective and informed perspective on the successes and lessons learned in Fair Trade to date; it also indicates some of the current trends, and links the Movement as a whole to other, related topics, including for example social development, corporate social responsibility and business development services. This paper has been written by Paul Snedker and Andy Redfern, both of whom are closely associated with Traidcraft UK. Mr. Snedker has worked in business development services and fair trade for the last seven years. He also has practical experience of running his own business and currently running a venture financed start-up company. Mr. Redfern has worked in SME development for six years and was closely involved in setting up the Ethical Trade Initiative in the UK. He is also a director of Traidcraft plc, its associated charity Traidcraft Exchange and Cafédirect. Traidcraft is a leading FT organization globally with a mission to fight poverty through trade. It employs 120 people and is based in the North East of the UK: it has been active in Fair Trade since 1979. Their experiences have enabled the authors to write with authority about the Fair Trade movement; their analysis and recommendations, while informed and thought-provoking, do not necessarily represent the views of the ILO. More information on the work of Traidcraft can be found at http://www.traidcraft.co.uk
Alternative Trade: Analysis and Efficacy as a Development Model
By Sam Clark Carpenter, 2000 This paper examines one approach to transforming the structural violence and threat to civil security that inundates much of the southern hemisphere. This approach is known as alternative trade or more commonly as fair trade. Simply put, “fair trade . . . has . . . come to represent a reasonable blend of market based economy and social justice and environmental interests (Tiffen and Zadek 164).” This examination of alternative trade 1) provides a brief review of the current international trade system and the impact it has on North and South; 2) gives a critical review of the limited literature on alternative trade and a detailed analysis of alternative trade philosophy, goals, methods, and debated issues; 3) highlights one North American alternative trade organization (ATO), Ten Thousand Villages, and present a description of its practices and an opinion on the benefits it offers to Third World small producers; and 4) presents an opinion on the strengths and accomplishments, challenges, and the future role of alternative trade.
Fair Trade Coffee - Facilitators guide
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