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PRACTICAL ACTION

Is your shopping fair enough?

ALISON HULL meets Christian Aid teacher Helen Harrison, and finds out how we can all help to make trade fairer

Helen Harrison believes in fair trade. And her belief has taken her a long way – to the Winward Islands and Nicaragua.

A trained physiotherapist, wife and mother of two children, much of her time is spent as a Christian Aid teacher, going into schools, Scout groups and youth clubs, and helping children to learn more about fair trade. But it is an issue that, she believes, every Christian should know more about ...

“Fair trade is a way of fighting poverty through trade,” explains Helen. “There are lots of farmers in the developing world who produce crops on which we are dependent for our current lifestyles – coffee, tea, bananas, cocoa – and yet most get treated like second or third class citizens. They are cheated, paid appalling prices, made to work in terrible conditions and as a result, poverty is high. So they turn to rich nations for help.

“One solution is to give them handouts in the form of charity, but what does that do for their dignity? What does that do for their independence? Fair trade gives them a chance to work their way out of poverty by treating them with respect.”

So why does she think more Christians aren’t involved with fair trade?

“Lack of time to go searching for goods with the fairtrade logo, but mainly lack of awareness,” she argues. “If you don’t know about something, you can’t support it, and if you don’t know the horrors of what you normally support, you won’t turn against it. Also, when fair trade coffee first came out, it was pretty awful, and many people were put off! Now the quality is excellent, and the range of options so much better, so people should give it a second chance.”

So in actual financial terms, what is the difference that fair trade makes?

“Nicaraguan farmers get $44 per hundredweight of coffee on the regular market and this fluctuates. On the fair trade market, they get $77 per hundredweight – plus $5 social premium – and that is a fixed rate. Their farms produce about 120 hundredweight a year. Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farmers in Ghana get £37 a sack on the regular market, and £66 a sack on the fair trade market, plus £6 social premium per sack – and they produce about five sacks a year, on average. The figures would be similar for tea and bananas.”

Yet in the shops the price of a jar of fairtrade coffee is around the same as a jar of ordinary coffee – so someone, somewhere, is making huge profits. Fairtrade isn’t just about money, as Helen explains: “It gives them a fair and living wage, a guaranteed price, a long term contract and technical advice as required, especially if they want to convert to organic farming. The social premium benefits the whole community, and if they get a fair wage, they can send their children to school.”

So what is life like for those farmers who can’t sell on the fair trade market (and many can’t as the demand is not big enough yet, although it is growing all the time)? On her trip to Nicaragua, Helen met some of them as well.

“They had a very different story to tell, of poor wages, irregular markets, cheating buyers, uncashable cheques, very poor housing and working conditions. They have had to abandon coffee farming as it costs more to produce the crop than they get paid at the market. I also met a fairtrade banana grower from the Winward islands, who said much the same.”
So what can people do to support fair trade?

“Lots of products are available now – tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas, pineapples, mangoes, drinking chocolate, cocoa, geobars, fruit juice, and cake and wine in Co-op stores. Oxfam shops and Traidcraft reps sell all these, plus honey, cereal, pasta, rice, sweets, jam, marmalade, chocolate spread ... and you can also get fair trade clothes, household goods, jewellery, accessories, paper goods and crafts.

“But long term we also need to campaign for a change in the whole way that international trading standards and agreements are made. Poor countries shouldn’t be expected to compete against rich countries without some help to give them that ability, and big international companies should be more transparent and accountable for their actions and the impact they have on world trade and the people that work for them, directly or indirectly.

“How can poor farmers be expected to compete when they have no government subsidies (because the World Bank and the IMF forbid it) whilst farmers in the EU and North America are heavily subsidised and thus able to market their goods at a lower price – and flood foreign markets with cheap excess?”

What do you say to those who point out that our own farmers need supporting? “I agree,” says Helen. “But most of the products that are available fairtrade are not grown over here, so you can support both – buy local and buy fair trade. The only two products that are duplicated are sugar and honey. I support sugar from abroad, because the UK sugar beet farmers are surviving without my support and I would rather help other smaller farmers. As to honey, I buy it locally – but for those people whose choice would be mass produced honey from Canada or fairtrade honey, I would recommend fair trade.”

TIP: Check out your local supermarket for fairtrade products - the Co-op tends to lead the way at the moment. If you don't think your local supermarket has enough fairtrade products, tell them and ask for more! Have a word with one of the supervisors or managers, or fill in a customer response card.

Alison Hull is a freelance writer based in Bristol

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		PRACTICAL ACTION Is your shopping fair enough? ALISON HULL meets Christian Aid teacher Helen Harrison, and finds out how we can all help to make trade fairer Helen Harrison believes in fair trade. And her belief has taken her a long way – to the Winward Islands and Nicaragua. A trained physiotherapist, wife and mother of two children, much of her time is spent as a Christian Aid teacher, going into schools, Scout groups and youth clubs, and helping children to learn more about fair trade. But it is an issue that, she believes, every Christian should know more about ... “Fair trade is a way of fighting poverty through trade,” explains Helen. “There are lots of farmers in the developing world who produce crops on which we are dependent for our current lifestyles – coffee, tea, bananas, cocoa – and yet most get treated like second or third class citizens. They are cheated, paid appalling prices, made to work in terrible conditions and as a result, poverty is high. So they turn to rich nations for help. “One solution is to give them handouts in the form of charity, but what does that do for their dignity? What does that do for their independence? Fair trade gives them a chance to work their way out of poverty by treating them with respect.” So why does she think more Christians aren’t involved with fair trade? “Lack of time to go searching for goods with the fairtrade logo, but mainly lack of awareness,” she argues. “If you don’t know about something, you can’t support it, and if you don’t know the horrors of what you normally support, you won’t turn against it. Also, when fair trade coffee first came out, it was pretty awful, and many people were put off! Now the quality is excellent, and the range of options so much better, so people should give it a second chance.” So in actual financial terms, what is the difference that fair trade makes? “Nicaraguan farmers get $44 per hundredweight of coffee on the regular market and this fluctuates. On the fair trade market, they get $77 per hundredweight – plus $5 social premium – and that is a fixed rate. Their farms produce about 120 hundredweight a year. Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farmers in Ghana get £37 a sack on the regular market, and £66 a sack on the fair trade market, plus £6 social premium per sack – and they produce about five sacks a year, on average. The figures would be similar for tea and bananas.” Yet in the shops the price of a jar of fairtrade coffee is around the same as a jar of ordinary coffee – so someone, somewhere, is making huge profits. Fairtrade isn’t just about money, as Helen explains: “It gives them a fair and living wage, a guaranteed price, a long term contract and technical advice as required, especially if they want to convert to organic farming. The social premium benefits the whole community, and if they get a fair wage, they can send their children to school.” So what is life like for those farmers who can’t sell on the fair trade market (and many can’t as the demand is not big enough yet, although it is growing all the time)? On her trip to Nicaragua, Helen met some of them as well. “They had a very different story to tell, of poor wages, irregular markets, cheating buyers, uncashable cheques, very poor housing and working conditions. They have had to abandon coffee farming as it costs more to produce the crop than they get paid at the market. I also met a fairtrade banana grower from the Winward islands, who said much the same.” So what can people do to support fair trade? “Lots of products are available now – tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas, pineapples, mangoes, drinking chocolate, cocoa, geobars, fruit juice, and cake and wine in Co-op stores. Oxfam shops and Traidcraft reps sell all these, plus honey, cereal, pasta, rice, sweets, jam, marmalade, chocolate spread ... and you can also get fair trade clothes, household goods, jewellery, accessories, paper goods and crafts. “But long term we also need to campaign for a change in the whole way that international trading standards and agreements are made. Poor countries shouldn’t be expected to compete against rich countries without some help to give them that ability, and big international companies should be more transparent and accountable for their actions and the impact they have on world trade and the people that work for them, directly or indirectly. “How can poor farmers be expected to compete when they have no government subsidies (because the World Bank and the IMF forbid it) whilst farmers in the EU and North America are heavily subsidised and thus able to market their goods at a lower price – and flood foreign markets with cheap excess?” What do you say to those who point out that our own farmers need supporting? “I agree,” says Helen. “But most of the products that are available fairtrade are not grown over here, so you can support both – buy local and buy fair trade. The only two products that are duplicated are sugar and honey. I support sugar from abroad, because the UK sugar beet farmers are surviving without my support and I would rather help other smaller farmers. As to honey, I buy it locally – but for those people whose choice would be mass produced honey from Canada or fairtrade honey, I would recommend fair trade.” TIP: Check out your local supermarket for fairtrade products - the Co-op tends to lead the way at the moment. If you don't think your local supermarket has enough fairtrade products, tell them and ask for more! Have a word with one of the supervisors or managers, or fill in a customer response card. Alison Hull is a freelance writer based in Bristol © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.