Fair Trade

FAIR TRADE?

It's about people and products as well as premiums
by Bruce McKinnon

Lorna Young was the Fair Trade pioneer responsible for selling and marketing Cafédirect – now the world’s number 1 Fair Trade hot drinks brand. Lorna secured the first supermarket sales listings for Cafédirect products, single-handedly introducing ethical shopping to the mainstream.

Fair Trade and the companies and organisations that have driven it have done an amazing job, genuinely engaging consumers in the trade debate and providing a better income for growers. And it’s still working, the Financial Times reports that global sales of Fair Trade products grew by 42%last year. The Fair Trade premium, the additional payment made to smallholder farmers on top of the market price for their crop, along with advice, credit and training, has helped them to re-invest in their fields, communities and livelihoods. But over the years the premium has become the focus and the important relationship between consumer and grower has lost its emphasis.

However, the global Fair Trade accreditation system is designed to make access as easy as possible for commercial organisations and , in practice, favours larger southern organisations that have the infrastructure and resources to meet larger corporate demand. The smaller more marginalised producers are once again left in their wake and are missing out.

The Lorna Young Foundation is rooted in a passionate commitment to Fair Trade but wants to take it further. Evolving from a price relationship to a meeting of minds, money and learning. The smallholder farmers that we work with are amongst the hardest working in the World and are committed to fair trade. But, despite their hard work, they still gain a disproportionately small return from the crops. Unfair and often unjust world trade systems mean that smallholder farmers still receive a mere fraction of the real value of the commodities that they produce.

A typical smallholder coffee farmer in Latin America or Africa might get the equivalent of about 2 pence on a cup of coffee bought in the High Street for £2. Many West African cocoa farmers have never tasted chocolate, and East African tea growers can’t buy their own tea in local shops, but have to rely on over-priced imports from multinational corporations.

Smallholder Organisations are now in a position to get back more of the value of what they grow and retain more of the value of their enterprise instead of passing it up the chain to middleman. The Lorna Young Foundation, the LYFE ventures and the LYFE Academy will provide access to invaluable commercial and marketing learning; develop local brands and markets, add value to produce and evolve a new generation of entrepreneurial business managers.

With your input, hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers can lift themselves out of poverty, secure their livelihoods and plan a very different future.

Log into LYFE.


Eradicate poverty Universal education Empower women Reduce mortality Improve health Combat diseases Ensure sustainability Global partnership	You are in: Fair Trade FAIR TRADE? It's about people and products as well as premiums by Bruce McKinnon Lorna Young was the Fair Trade pioneer responsible for selling and marketing Cafédirect – now the world’s number 1 Fair Trade hot drinks brand. Lorna secured the first supermarket sales listings for Cafédirect products, single-handedly introducing ethical shopping to the mainstream. Fair Trade and the companies and organisations that have driven it have done an amazing job, genuinely engaging consumers in the trade debate and providing a better income for growers. And it’s still working, the Financial Times reports that global sales of Fair Trade products grew by 42%last year. The Fair Trade premium, the additional payment made to smallholder farmers on top of the market price for their crop, along with advice, credit and training, has helped them to re-invest in their fields, communities and livelihoods. But over the years the premium has become the focus and the important relationship between consumer and grower has lost its emphasis. However, the global Fair Trade accreditation system is designed to make access as easy as possible for commercial organisations and , in practice, favours larger southern organisations that have the infrastructure and resources to meet larger corporate demand. The smaller more marginalised producers are once again left in their wake and are missing out. The Lorna Young Foundation is rooted in a passionate commitment to Fair Trade but wants to take it further. Evolving from a price relationship to a meeting of minds, money and learning. The smallholder farmers that we work with are amongst the hardest working in the World and are committed to fair trade. But, despite their hard work, they still gain a disproportionately small return from the crops. Unfair and often unjust world trade systems mean that smallholder farmers still receive a mere fraction of the real value of the commodities that they produce. A typical smallholder coffee farmer in Latin America or Africa might get the equivalent of about 2 pence on a cup of coffee bought in the High Street for £2. Many West African cocoa farmers have never tasted chocolate, and East African tea growers can’t buy their own tea in local shops, but have to rely on over-priced imports from multinational corporations. Smallholder Organisations are now in a position to get back more of the value of what they grow and retain more of the value of their enterprise instead of passing it up the chain to middleman. The Lorna Young Foundation, the LYFE ventures and the LYFE Academy will provide access to invaluable commercial and marketing learning; develop local brands and markets, add value to produce and evolve a new generation of entrepreneurial business managers. With your input, hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers can lift themselves out of poverty, secure their livelihoods and plan a very different future. Log into LYFE.	Contribute to our success Lara Morgan, Pacific Direct, explains LYFE Stories Fair Trade Competitive Collaboration Links Glossary
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