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Fair Trade is Dead
Posted by Matt Earley at about 3pm on Friday January 13, 2012
Sitting in San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico things are crystal clear. Underneath the din of organizations in the North clamoring to set the definition and terms of Fair Trade, small-scale coffee farmers-- the original and supposed main beneficiaries of the system(s)-- have a unified opinion that Fair Trade™ has not worked. This of course, on the surface, is not a new revelation. However, where in the past we often discussed Fair Trade as “not working”, we now are closing the book on it-- we are speaking in the past tense. In the wake of FLO's slow and steady sell out of the model to large corporations and TransFair USA's sprint to complete the deal, Fair Trade™ has bitten the dust. Now is the appropriate time to spill an espresso shot in the dirt and say a few words.
Now dry that tear because I have some good news. Out of Fair Trade's™ ashes there is already a movement to build something better and it is coming from the people who were virtually shut out of the old system-- the producers themselves. After four days of meetings with coffee farmers from all over Latin America, as well as mission-based coffee roasters and other allies, it is clear that there is abundant energy for rebuilding a model of fair trade with true representation from all involved and that comes from farmers themselves. This new spirit can be seen in many initiatives, but most concretely in the Coordinadora Latinoamericana y del Caribe's (CLAC) new label that highlights products grown and sold by small-scale producer cooperatives under terms defined as fair by the producers themselves and agreed upon with buyers in true partnership. This small farmer-owned certification system is up and running and will be a market force to be reckoned with by the end of 2012.
During our conversations a veteran of the small-farmer movement in Mexico summed up the situation nicely:
“In 1997 we were in meetings with other fair traders when FLO announced that they were forming and would be setting the standards for our movement. Many of us stood up and walked out.” He said that from that moment on farmers knew that, despite good intentions, they had already lost control of what would become branded as “Fair Trade”. Over the years the certifying bodies in the north controlled the conversation and set the norms with “feedback” from farmers, but without farmers truly having any ownership of the organization. Consumers could see farmers' faces on marketing materials and bags of coffee, but could not hear producer voices. Now farmers want their voices heard.
Fair trade is not a brand owned by companies and non-profits in the global north. The “look for the label” movement bet that people were simply “consumers” who could not stop for longer than a few seconds to think and truly care about what they were supporting with their purchases. They were wrong. True fair trade can start with a simple communication on a product, but it goes deeper as people start to ask questions about every product that they purchase-- including those bearing “the label”. Real fair trade is in small-farmers and their democratic cooperatives as well as in our hometown farmer's markets, small businesses, and communities-- these things are connected and worth supporting and fighting for. Authentic fair trade is a mutual agreement between people who produce things and the people who buy them. Its standards are the result of equals transparently negotiating in good faith with the intention of both parties satisfying their basic needs. All of this results-- little by little-- in a world where “producers” and “consumers” see each other as people and together work toward creating a sustainable global economy and global society.
Fair Trade™ is dead. It is played out, stale, corrupted, and largely meaningless. When the CEO of the US body that claims ownership of it makes a quarter million dollars a year, drops gems like “Small is not beautiful”, and brands small farmer advocates as “fanatical”, you can go ahead and close the coffin lid. When Starbucks becomes corporate leader of the system while it simultaneously boasts of paying under world market prices for its coffee in its own CSR report, rigor mortis has set in. When plantations-- with their traditionally indentured labor forces-- are welcomed in with open arms while small farmers' voices fall on deaf ears, the bucket has officially been kicked.
Fair Trade™ is surely dead.
Long live fair trade.
Beautifully written!
Beautifully written!
Capitalism
My concern is that the abuses of the Fair Trade movement highlighted in this article are nearly another indication of how adaptive the system of capitalism is. Any new paradigm, no matter how good its intentions are to begin with, will ultimately move to maximizing profits at the expense of workers.
As long as we are trying to tweak the system to make it a little more fair here and there, our laudable goals will become twisted to the will of the almighty dollar. I hope this new focus on true fair trade can become a movement that continues to push forward in order to avoid these pitfalls.
Inspiration for Fair Trade apparel critique
Hi Matt,
I wanted to thank you for this post, which was instrumental in one we just published on the blog for Ethix Merch. It's incredibly useful to have the examples you outlined when considering the possible fair-washing of the sweatshop-free movement, which is also running into issues of non-cooperation from Fair Trade USA.
Hope you'll find it interesting: http://ethixmerch.com/blog/act-now-to-save-the-union-label
Best,
Aria
food poverty in mexico
please read this text:
http://www.fpif.org/articles/nafta_is_starving_mexico
and you will see that fairtrade does not have many influence
on food poverty! also when you see the average harvest of coffee
campesinos! la unica solucion:migracion.......
salarios minimos de trabajador@s de café de el salvador
hola, aqui son los salarios de los 99% que producen café.
siempre los 1% de flo y co viven de nosotr@s !
Certification and labeling necessary for practicality
I appreciate the points you have raised, but I would like to counter the assertion that "looking for the label" is somehow a negative action. Obviously, the label has to truly uphold the standards it represents for it to be meaningful. However, in cases where the label is truly meaningful, certification and labeling are vital to get everyday consumers to change their shopping practices.
The amount of research you suggest consumers put into each and every purchase is impractical. Consumers rely on labels to interpret companys' information through the appropriate industry context. I don't know enough about the coffee industry to know what is fair and what isn't. I appreciate JC posting your financials so that those who DO know the difference can see them, but as an individual consumer, those documents aren't going to influence my purchasing decision.
Consumers could make the effort to become well-informed about a handful of industries, but when you think about the wide variety of items people buy on an everyday basis, it would be impossible to properly research and interpret the data for each item. Socks, printer toner, spinach, coffee, greeting cards, motor oil... It would be debilitating to become on expert on everything. While I agree it would be ideal for consumers and producers to be in fully transparent, one-to-one relationships, our current global economy is just not set up to facilitate that on a large scale.
I agree with Jackie that labeling has increased the number of people who are thinking critically about their purchasing decisions. She also raised a good point about complex manufactured products like computers—how do you have a transparent relationship with the producer of a laptop, as well as the suppliers of the hundreds of component parts?
Recognizing the desire of people to make ethical decisions while also acknowledging the need for practicality, I have started a project called the Fair for All Shopping Guide. It is a shopping guide that presents a list of pre-researched online retailers who meet a set of ethical criteria. We are fully transparent about our research process and principles and encourage users to double-check our work. For users who don't want to take that extra time, though, they can be fairly confident that our recommendations are probably better than the "normal" alternative. They will come away slightly more informed and having supported a business our team believes is good enough to recommend, which is better than them just having gone to Walmart.
Thanks for starting such a thoughtful discussion!
Julia
We Know Fair Trade when we See it!
Great Post on the State of Fair Trade. It's not all bad news. As a retailer in Fair Trade Products we have chosen to deal direct with Fair Trade Producers. No middle man with chubby tummies. We are not looking for approval from any third party either. We don't look for a sticker that says the family working for us in Malawi has pased some third parties' self imposed standards.
We know what Fair Trade is. We know what is a Fair Wage and we support those industries and producers and Familes who seek to support themsevles with a hard days work!
Fair Trade™ is dead, long live fair trade...
Matt,
Thank you for the great post. Also, thank you for posting the 990 form. I always wondered how much my bosses were making. The form is probably a year or two old as many of those folks are gone (save CEO and COO.) The problem with Fair Trade(TM) can be found in the people who run it. You can't have an ego bigger than Texas and claim to be doing god's work to help the poor. TFUSA/FTUSA suffers from the same ideological corruption as any self-important NGO, regardless of industry.
I'm thankful Just Coffee and others are still out fighting. Keep up the amazing work.
What's next?
Hi Matt,
I think you have some valid points here. My question is this:
What will you call this new system you propose? Calling it "Fair Trade" is not really a viable option, not when you have proclaimed "Fair Trade is Dead". I believe something good can come from all of this, but it will require re-branding. Perhaps we embrace the Small Farmer label?
Whatever the case, I believe success will require a clean break from the term "Fair Trade". Otherwise, the consumer and the media will not understand the difference between "authentic FT" and "corporate FT". Trashing "Fair Trade USA" will not help farmers.
I realize this is hard to accept, especially for the people that helped make the Fair Trade Movement a success. But there is no way to compete with Fair Trade USA -- they control the brand now, like it or not. Right or wrong.
If you feel you need a label, then I vote for the Small Farmer label. Great work by Merling, Jeronimo and the members of CLAC!
Another option: give/sell shares of your cooperative to farmers and call yourself "Farmer-Owned".
Thaleon Tremain
Pachamama Coffee Cooperative
Look for the Seal, and Keep on Walking
Dear Matt,
Thanks for this excellent, insightful and well-written commentary on the (moribund) state of Fair Trade. Although it is sad that it has come to this, I couldn't agree more that the moment is ripe with opportunity for something so much better to be born out of the ashes of Fair Trade. I am encouraged by the work of the CLAC and Fundeppo, and also by the many voices all over the world to acknowledge past mistakes, learn from our experiences, and create something truly visionary and much more equitable in the future.
Consumers should never be treated as one-dimensional beings. Nor should producers ever be reduced to smiling farmers. Fair Trade lost its way when "look for the seal" became the dominant marketing tool of a certifying agent.
Next time around, we'll stay true to our values and never again let a certifying agency try to "take over our movement". We need to continue deepening our collective level of awareness, analysis, and education. Ultimately, certification schemes can never be the end-all panacea to development and empowerment needs, but rather one piece in a much bigger and more complex paradigm.
I look forward to working with other truly committed "Fair Trade movement" activists over the next months to see what we can come up with to replace this obsolete and corrupted system.
Thanks again Matt!
Phyllis Robinson
Equal Exchange
ps. Don't forget to sign our statement reaffirming support for Authentic Fair Trade, which can be found at:
http://www.equalexchange.coop/fair-trade-campaign
Please Listen
All of us want to say 'long live fair trade'. Nobody wants to declare the death of fair trade, but the moment has come when long-hidden arguments between different approaches to fair trade have finally come to the surface. Some say the situation is confusing. I would say it is clarifying. Let's celebrate this new wave of honesty and creativity within the fair trade movement.
As well, I would like to reply to Jackie DeCarlo by saying that the Small Producers' Symbol, launched by the CLAC and administered by FUNDEPPO, not only represents commodity producers, but also represents small crafts producers. We will soon publish our specific handicrafts standards based on the participation and feedback from the artisans within our network.
Jéronimo Pruijn Van Engelen
Executive Director, FUNDEPPO
Small Producers' Symbol
jeronimopve@gmail.com
Still listening...
Jéronimo, Thanks for explaining that the CLAC symbol will involve craft producers within your network. I think many of us are very eager to understand better how the CLAC functions, who its members are and what the standards are. Perhaps it will be a good model for bringing in diverse producer voices.
I know that in years past there was much dialogue on WFTO discussion boards that artisans in the Global South (or majority world as Albert Tucker used to referred to them) were not heeded by the businesses of the mostly Global North. Part of the problem seemed to be knowing which voices represented which interests and perspectives. I am trying not to fall into the trap of thinking of "producers" as one homogenous group.
Jackie DeCarlo
Not ready just yet to attend the funeral
Matt, thanks as usual for an inspirational and challenging perspective. I read the post a couple days back and been mulling some things that I welcome honest reaction to.
Understandably you speak from the relationships you have with farmers and your experience with the conventional and Fair Trade certified coffee experiment (which you dutifully reference by its trademark). But I want to make sure that the Fair Trade craft businesses and the artisans who also seek a voice are not left out of your definition of authentic Fair Trade. We need all sectors, not just the commodities, to revive efforts to create a movement with true producer voice. The way I tell the story (myth?) of Fair Trade’s roots, it starts with a Mennonite missionary committed to helping fellow seamstresses get access to the same types of fair, alternative markets she, Edna Ruth Byler, had in Pennsylvania. If we leave out of new dialogue and debate the artisans whose foremothers sold their handcrafts to what is now Ten Thousand Villages and other pioneering organizations, we risk overlooking the values of our roots as well as contributing to the marginalization of women, who are the majority of artisans. We also miss out on what we can learn from the persistent business models like Villages and newcomers like Handmade Expressions or Global Crafts. Finally, we may reinvent wheels and promote failed efforts at unity.
Also, as someone who has stumbled with awkward attempts at producer inclusion that teeter on the verge of tokenism, I wonder how to follow the lead of producers. Could you say more about how to follow the leaders of Global South? I recall visiting Ghana once with Board members of Divine chocolate and having one tell me that “operating as equals is not easy.” Across barriers of geography, language and access to technology how do follow not lead? How do we promote collaboration not domination? I recognize this is a huge question. But my query is sincere: I am writing as a white woman enjoying the Dr. Martin Luther King holiday, and I wonder how do I shed our Northern privilege while also retain, frankly, a middle-class position that many of the artisans and farmers I have met over the years aspire to? And, like you, I have witnessed infighting and politics among cooperatives and associations, so I feel hesitant from a distance to know what voices and visions to follow.
Another final thing that struck me was the reported dismissal of E. F. Schumacher’s influential book “Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered.” I actually often quip “Small is beautiful…. but big isn’t always bad.” I agree that there are many consumers who don’t just want a quick and easy guilt-alleviation fix. Many, many people want to do the right thing in relationship to the people who grow their food and create the products in their life. They want to be fair, ethical and earth-friendly in their actions. But, they don’t all one to do it in small, cooperative contexts. Speaking for myself, I have to recognize that I am typing on a laptop made by a huge multi-national corporation. I may have picked up a prescription this weekend from a family-owned pharmacy (they do exist!) but I got the drugs from Bigpharma. And, while I may rejoice that economic inequality is more and more part of the public discourse as we gear up for a campaign season in the world’s largest democracy, I didn’t pitch a tent to Occupy DC just a few miles away.
My point is that one of the things that Fair Trade certification has done well is it has increased the number of ordinary consumers doing extraordinary things—using the power of their dollars. These folks benefit from big institutions as well as support small, and if we all try to work together to create authentic Fair Trade we are going to have to recognize that reality, not scoff at it. Because if we can find a balance then maybe we can avoid polarization.
I’ve gone on a long time (a good way to spend MLK morning?) and I’ve written personal musings (disclaimer: I am writing on my day off, not as a representative of my day job). I appreciate the promptings of your FT certified obituary: I guess I was just not yet willing to throw a fistful of dirt on the coffin until I shared some of my reflections.
Jackie DeCarlo
Fair Trade is not dead!
1) Fair Trade USA has left the international system and opened up certification for coffee plantations. The global Fairtrade system (FLO) has always been supportive of small-scale farmers and has never accepted proposals to certify coffee plantations. Under FLO certification, only small-scale farmers organised in co-operatives can be Fairtrade certified.
(Please remember that Fairtrade refers to the FLO global system, whereas fair trade is a concept and anyone can claim to be fair trade without having to show compliance to any standard or practice)
2) Fairtrade is a voluntary system. Farmers join because they see the benefits (better prices, better market access). In 2008, we had 480.000 Fairtrade certified small-scale farmers in the world. In 2010 the number grew to 532.000. This growth is seen in all product categories. (Click here to see the full research) Is it possible that more and more farmers want to join the system if this is actually unfair for them?
3) FLO is owned by the producer networks and the marketing bodies. Producer networks (CLAC in Latin America, NAP in Asia and Fairtrade Africa in Africa) are part-owner of FLO and its standards and have full voting rights in the General Assembly, which shapes the international system. It is therefore not accurate to say that the FLO system just dictates the standards. Standards are developed with producer networks, and producers have always a chance to be involved. If producers do not feel involved enough, I encourage them all to take a stand and talk with their country/regional Fairtrade representatives in order to change the situation.
4) I agree with you that fair trade (as a movement and not a specific label) is facing new challenges, and the world is changing fast. Consumers, especially in the north, are now wondering "should i buy fair or local?". Fair trade systems are also slowly adapting to the global climate and, for example, FLO is increasing their research on climate change adaptation measures (WITH producers) in order to find strategies for the future.
5) I hope that the independent choices of Fair Trade USA will not affect the perception of the global Fairtrade system (FLO)
Thank you for the discussion!
Arianna Baldo, Business development manager
Fairtrade Label South Africa
ACRONYMS
FLO...FTUSA...DUI...FTFA...OMG...DOA...RIP...SPS...ASAP
PS: SPS=Small Producers' Symbol
RSVP
James Solkin
Santropol
santropol@copardes.com
BRB
Fair Trade™ is surely dead. Long live fair trade
Great piece - wishing you good luck from a fair trade producer of natural skin care products in Swaziland - www.swazisecrets.com. We certainly share your frustrations with the Fair Trade sell out and delighted to see some action. john@swazisecrets.com