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Fairtrade launches to consumers in India

Welcome to Fairtrade India

22 November 2013

Fairtrade India launched officially yesterday in Bangalore, the newest addition to the growing global Fairtrade family. The organization will focus on “promoting Indian-produced Fairtrade products directly to the growing Indian market to further benefit Fairtrade farmers and workers.”
Abhishek Jani, CEO of Fairtrade India, said, “This is an exciting opportunity for India to demonstrate that it can actually lead on ethical consumption and show its support for our small farmers. Buying Fairtrade is an immediate way for us to directly support the poorest farmers, and the environment.”
Fairtrade started working with Indian producers almost 19 years ago, helping them gain access to European markets on better terms of trade. The initial basket of Fairtrade products from India included tea, spices, coffee, cotton and nuts.
There are now 121,400 workers and farmers working with Fairtrade in India, with 72 Fairtrade certified producer organisations, exporting Fairtrade certified products around the world.
In 2012, an additional 2.4 million Euros (approx . Rs. 19.4 crores) was received by Indian farmers and workers as Fairtrade Premium above what they would otherwise have received in the market.
“Fairtrade has made a tangible difference in the lives of Indian farmers. We’ve been able to invest in our communities, and have greater power in our trading relationships thanks to the Fairtrade movement. With the launch of Fairtrade India, we now have a chance to increase the impact much further,” said Tomy Matthew, Chair of Association of Indian Fairtrade Producers.
Home grown Indian brands are now already available providing Fairtrade rice, tea, coffee, spices and cotton for Indian consumers and businesses.
A range of wholesale Fairtrade products are available, including cotton, coffee, rice, sugar, spices, dried fruit, cocoa and coconut, among others.
“We are excited about the launch of Fairtrade because it provides an innovative opportunity for ethical businesses like ours to credibly demonstrate our commitment and to create tangible positive impact on cotton farmers and workers' lives. We strongly believe that Indian consumers are ready to exercise their power and act as change agent through their daily purchases,” said Sreeranga Rajan, the CEO of Dibella India, which offers products made from Fairtrade certified cotton.
In March 2013, Abhishek Jani was appointed Fairtrade India’s first Chief Executive and its Board members now include producers and Fairtrade experts alike.
Fairtrade India is part of Fairtrade moving beyond the south-north trade model, and Fairtrade marketing organisations have now been established successfully in countries including South Africa and Kenya.

For Press Enquiries and accompanying images, contact:
Abhishek Jani, CEO of Fairtrade India.
Tel: +91 99 80 28228
http://www.fairtradeindia.org
New Programs for Cotton, Cocoa and Sugar have Board App...

21 November 2013

- New model to enable Fairtrade producers to increase their Fairtrade sales

- Work now underway for launch in early 2014

The Fairtrade International Board approved new programs for cocoa and sugar at its meeting in Amsterdam last week. A similar program for cotton was approved earlier this year.
The new model, called Fairtrade Sourcing Programs, will enable cocoa, sugar and cotton farmers to sell more of their crops as Fairtrade, bringing greater impact to their farms and communities. It forms a key part of our global strategy, “Unlocking the Power of the Many”, which seeks to dramatically increase Fairtrade’s impact for producers, and reaffirms our commitment to small-scale farmers in cocoa, sugar and cotton.

Producers need to sell more on Fairtrade terms
Currently, many cocoa and sugar producers only sell a fraction of their crops on Fairtrade terms. Thousands of Fairtrade cotton farmers have sold little to no Fairtrade cotton in the last few years. At the same time, there are millions of disadvantaged farmers that could benefit: just 1.2% of the world’s cocoa comes from Fairtrade farmers; in cane sugar and cotton it is even less.
“Fairtrade Africa welcomes Fairtrade Sourcing Programs as an important new model to open up more ways for farmers to benefit from Fairtrade,” said Chief Adam Tampuri, Chair of Fairtrade Africa and member of the Fairtrade International Board. “Thousands of farmers in West Africa are in dire need of new opportunities to sell their cocoa and cotton as Fairtrade. We need action now to turn this situation around, to transform the lives of African producers. We believe Fairtrade Sourcing Programs are an important part of the solution”.

Fairtrade Sourcing Programs will create new sales opportunities for producers
Up to now, our focus has been solely on certifying consumer products with the FAIRTRADE Mark. To carry the Mark, 100% of a product must be Fairtrade (for products like coffee, bananas or wine) or, for a product with multiple ingredients like ice cream or chocolate, all available ingredients must be Fairtrade certified.
Fairtrade will introduce the new Sourcing Programs alongside the existing model, opening up new sales opportunities for Fairtrade producers. Globally, more and more companies have committed to buying sustainable cocoa, sugar or cotton, to use across whole product ranges or even their entire business. The new model provides a big opportunity for Fairtrade farmers to sell to companies who are focused on one or two key raw products, rather than certifying end consumer products. Companies will be able to communicate their sourcing program commitment using a new, differentiated ‘Program Mark’ either on-pack or in their corporate communications.
Under Fairtrade Sourcing Programs, producers will receive all the same Fairtrade benefits, including the protection of a Minimum Price (wherever relevant) and the Fairtrade Premium.

How we developed the model and next steps
The Sourcing Program model is the result of almost two years of detailed research and consultation involving Fairtrade producers, partners, and consumers. Around 200 partners, including over 40 producer organizations around the world took part.
We will share more details about Fairtrade Sourcing Programs when we make our public announcement in early 2014.

Starbucks special Year-End Party sharing love and joy

On Dec. 12, 2013 Starbucks Korea threw Year-End Party for 2013 inviting more than 50 people from NGOs and related organizations including FMO Korea, Cultural Heritage Administrations, Seoul City, Community Chest of Korea, ChildFund Korea to thanks for participating public services to support community that they’ve done together throughout the year.

Bronwyn Mullen, Ambasssador for Fairtrade in Korea hosted the event and Suk-Koo Lee, CEO of Starbucks Korea served the coffee to express his gratitude to participants.

Starbucks Korea provided various programs for participants: Sejeong Park, 2014 Starbucks coffee ambassador shared the results of CSR activites in 2014, future CSR plan for 2014, youth leadership support activity cases, fusion Korean traditional music performance by Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation and making Christmas tree using disposable cup & coffee compost.

Starbucks Korea made 28,128hours of public services with 8,734 people from 150 of NGOs and community public service organizations from January 2013 to November 2013 to bring positive changes and to support community development.

2nd Asia Regional Conference in Hong Kong

All participants holding Fairtrade cupcake celebrating its 25 years anniversary

On Nov. 31, the 2nd Asia Regional Conference was held in Hong Kong. We had more participants than last year to this conference including FMO Hong Kong, FMO Korea, Taiwan Fairtrade Association Fairtrade Label Japan and Liaison Office China, Andrea Richert, New Markets Manager in Fairtrade International and Martin Hill, Director of Global Account Management in Fairtrade International. Each country presented the status of Fairtrade in the market, marketing activities in 2013 and also future plan as well as possible marketing activities within region that we will look forward to having more collaborative marketing activities in Asia Fairtrade region.

Harriet Lamb First Woman to Be Made Honorary Fellow of ...

Harriet Lamb, chief executive of Fairtrade International, is today made an honorary fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge University – the first time the college has given the honour to a woman.

Trinity Hall, founded in 1350, said the award recognized Lamb’s “global reach and influence as CEO of Fairtrade International and her commitment to social justice.”

Lamb, aged 52, read political science at Trinity Hall in 1979-1981, before doing development work with the untouchable caste in India.

She joined Fairtrade International in 1997 with the aim of improving life for banana growers in central America and became chief executive in 2012.

Professor Martin Daunton, Master of Trinity Hall, said the college prided itself on its engagement with its alumni and with the wider world.

“Many of its alumni are active in public life around the world and we are delighted that Harriet Lamb will be more closely involved with our community,” he said.

“As executive director and subsequently chief executive, she has raised the profile of the organisation, an organisation that Trinity Hall is committed to support. We support her commitment to social justice.”

Harriet Lamb praised Fairtrade producers, as well as campaigners across the UK for putting Fairtrade on the map, including students and staff at Cambridge University and the Cambridge Fairtrade Group.

There are 37 honorary fellows of the college.

For further information contact:
Reykia Fick, Media Relations Manager,
Fairtrade International: +49 228 949 23 141 or +49 172 541 6076,
press@fairtrade.net
Consumers Favour Fairtrade as Ethical Label of Choice
Consumers Favour Fairtrade as Ethical Label of Choice
Fairtrade International releases 2012-13 annual report on “Unlocking the Power”

Bonn, Germany, 3 September 2013.
Fairtrade International’s 2012-13 annual report, released today, shows strong sales and continued consumer trust, making Fairtrade the label of choice for shoppers around the world. The report is ba
sed on the organization’s work in the past year on “Unlocking the Power” of producers and is highlighted by 16 percent growth in the total number of producer organizations compared to 2011.

Over 1.3 million farmers and workers in 70 countries are part of 1,149 Fairtrade producer organizations. In addition to sales income, these producer groups benefitted from around 80 million euros in Fairtrade Premium money for sustainability and development projects in 2012.

Consumer sales increased significantly in key markets, including: Germany (33 percent), the Netherlands (26 percent), Sweden (28 percent), Switzerland (15 percent), and the UK (16 percent). Last year’s growth nearly completely offset the drop in total 2012 sales caused by Fair Trade USA’s withdrawal from the international system at the end of 2011. Excluding the USA, average sales in all other Fairtrade markets increased by over 20 percent compared to 2011.

Despite positive trends in consumer sales and an increase in Fairtrade producer organizations, many people are still beyond Fairtrade’s reach. The number of Fairtrade producers is just a fraction of the total number of producers around the world.

“In the ultimate irony, half of the world’s hungriest people are smallholder farmers, yet they grow 70 percent of the world’s food,” said Harriet Lamb, CEO of Fairtrade International. “Fairtrade’s strong sales growth in 2012 is encouraging, but we are productively dissatisfied. We must step up the reach of Fairtrade if we are to break the mould of unfairness that is so deeply embedded in trade.

"When in 2013, a tea worker can still earn less than one percent of the price of a pack of tea, something must be systemically wrong with global trade. That underscores the urgency of Fairtrade unlocking the power of campaigners, consumers and producers to drive change."

Spreading the benefits of Fairtrade is a cornerstone of Fairtrade’s three-year strategy, “Unlocking the Power of the Many.” Innovative projects aimed at enabling disadvantaged farmers and workers to run sustainable businesses and bring about change in their communities are being prepared for 2014.

Consumers showed their support for Fairtrade by spending 4.8 billion euros on Fairtrade products in 2012. Nine in ten consumers in five leading Fairtrade markets recognized the FAIRTRADE Mark. A Fairtrade-commissioned study in 17 countries confirmed Fairtrade’s position as the most widely-recognized ethical label. Across all markets, six in ten consumers have seen the FAIRTRADE Mark, and of those, nine in ten trust it.

Expanding Fairtrade to more consumers is also critical to “Unlocking the Power of the Many.” In 2013, Fairtrade products became available in Kenya and will be available in India later this year, providing consumers in those markets the chance to buy Fairtrade products from Fairtrade producers in the same country.

Highlights from 2012-13 at Fairtrade International:
- Producer networks are now half-owners of Fairtrade International, making Fairtrade the only ethical certification scheme in the world to be jointly-owned by its producers.
- Nespresso, Ben and Jerry’s, and Maltesers made major new commitments with Fairtrade.
- The Fairtrade Access Fund has given US$5.65 million in loans to small producer organizations in Latin America to address their most pressing financial needs.
- More than half of all bananas sold in Switzerland’s retail chains are from Fairtrade producers, and over 40 percent of sugar bags in the UK bear the FAIRTRADE Mark. Globally, sales of Fairtrade flowers grew by over 50 percent.
- Over 30,000 Fairtrade products are now sold in more than 125 countries worldwide.
Additional information:
GlobeScan charts and global retail sales figures (see below)
The full annual report can be downloaded from our website: http://www.fairtrade.net/annual-reports.html

For more information, please contact:
Jiyoon KIM, FMO Korea / fairtrade4korea@fairtrade.net

Fairtrade International is an internationally recognized, non-profit organization that works to secure fairer trade terms so that farmers and workers in developing countries can invest in a better future for themselves and their communities. Fairtrade International is responsible for the strategic direction of the Fairtrade system, setting the international Fairtrade Standards and supporting producers to gain Fairtrade certification. Fairtrade International owns the FAIRTRADE Certification Mark, a registered trademark which shows that a product has met the Fairtrade Standards. Members of Fairtrade International include producer networks who represent the interest of producers in the Fairtrade system and national Fairtrade orgnaizations who promote Fairtrade to business and consumers in the countries of sale. Over 6 million people (farmers, workers and their family members) in 70 countries directly benefit from the global Fairtrade system. For more information, please visit www.fairtrade.net.

Findings from a GlobeScan survey in 17 countries, 2013.
More than 10,000 adult consumers surveyed.

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