Chocolate Report PDF - Fair Trade Barrie

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Co-op track record on Fairtrade The Co-op... stocks Fairtrade products in more outlets than any other retailer sells Fairtrade tea, coffee and chocolate - even in its smallest convenience and community stores was the first supermarket to promote Fairtrade produce through TV commercials - just one element of the Co-op’s extensive marketing support launched the UK’s first Fairtrade bananas was the first retailer to launch an own-brand FAIRTRADE Mark product - Co-op Fair Trade Divine Milk Chocolate, followed by Co-op Fair Trade Divine Crispy White Chocolate builds awareness of Fairtrade via its members with activities such as tastings, leafleting and conference events launched the first supermarket own-brand Fairtrade coffee - Co-op Fair Trade Roast and Ground Coffee, followed by Co-op Fair Trade Instant Coffee Granules - another supermarket first was the first retailer to launch fairly-traded red and white wine introduced the world’s first Fairtrade mango (available seasonally) diversified the offering by producing the UK’s first supermarket Fairtrade chocolate cake, using Fairtrade sugar and cocoa. How Fairtrade helps banana growers in Ecuador Ana and José are banana farmers at El Guabo in Ecuador. They are married with three children. José has a passion for healthy farming. Fairtrade insists on limiting the use of chemicals, and he approves of this policy: “After all, we eat the bananas ourselves.” But he says it would be more difficult to sustain this practice without the higher price paid by Fairtrade. “Other companies don’t care whether we use chemicals or not. The chemicals make the crop grow quickly at first, but then the soil degenerates. We farmers need to know this, so we can preserve the nature around us.” Ana gets up at 6am, though on harvest days she’ll get up at 4am. She starts the day by preparing traditional Ecuadorian food: herb tea, yucca, green bananas, boiled maize. Like other local banana growers, their weekly work consists of plant irrigation, pruning, pest prevention and harvesting the crop. Both of them were born in the uplands of Ecuador. José was originally a carpenter. They moved to the coast 10 years ago to be near Ana’s family and bought a small piece of land. Ana and José own two hectares of land each. Ana and José found out about Fairtrade through a friend and joined the El Guabo banana co-operative. El Guabo, a group of about 100 small farmers, is one of only two suppliers of Fairtrade bananas from Ecuador. However, there is not yet enough demand for El Guabo to supply all its bananas to the Fairtrade market, so members such as Ana and José have to sell the rest of their crop to Eastern Europe at a much lower price. If the Fairtrade market grew, Ana would invest in a cable system for transporting the bananas round the farm, which is less damaging to the fruit. She’d also put the money towards her children’s education. 7
PHOTOGRAPHY: Brian Moody Fairtrade now represents over 4.5 million producers and their families, involving 350 groups in 36 countries. In the UK alone, sales increased by 40 per cent in 2001 to reach £46 million. During the same period, Fairtrade sales at the Co-op increased by an incredible 180 per cent. Fairtrade income has transformed the lives of thousands of growers in developing countries: Water: the money earned through the sale of Fairtrade produce is used by communities to construct wells and pumping facilities for basic, but vital, water supplies. Often the alternative is hour-long treks, up to eight times a day, to the nearest river, which may be contaminated and can cause disease. Standard of living: Fairtrade co-operatives have been set up in villages where the standard of living was extremely low. Income from Fairtrade produce has helped them to build new housing and facilities for their villages, and new hope for their communities. Disaster recovery: guaranteed Fairtrade prices mean farmers and growers can better recover when natural disasters, such as floods and hurricanes, destroy their crops, providing them with advance funding and secure returns. Efficiency: taking farmers and growers out of the subsistence trap means they can devote time and resource to improving processes and enhancing quality, making their produce even more competitive against non-Fairtrade produce. Health: Fairtrade helps provide basic medical care for farmers and their families, which they would otherwise go without Education: bringing growers together in Fairtrade co-operatives means they can afford to build local schools, which would otherwise be too far away or too expensive for them to attend. Getting a fair and stable price for their produce means they can afford to send their children to school and buy the necessary books and equipment. Safety: in snake-infested crop fields, where snake attack is a serious hazard, often resulting in death or serious injury, being able to afford something as simple as a pair of wellington boots can transform working conditions for growers. Consumer benefit: because growers receive a premium for Fairtrade produce, they naturally tend to select the better quality produce for this market. So we get top quality foods to enjoy. Environment: in the production of bananas where chemical usage is a real issue, Fairtrade development programmes have vastly reduced the use of pesticides in Fairtrade bananas. In addition, many Fairtrade plantations have planted trees and established buffer zones to protect the local environment. 8
Page 2 and 3: Just about everyone loves chocolate
Page 4 and 5: Contents 1 Globalisation: a dirty w
Page 6 and 7: Conditions vary depending on countr
Page 10 and 11: But the Fairtrade banana currently
Page 12 and 13: Any serious initiative against chil
Page 14 and 15: ack into the community, into projec
Page 16 and 17: 5 Join our campaign The Co-op is pr
Page 18: Acknowledgements The Co-op would li

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