Be the Change with Fairtrade India
What exactly does fair trade mean? Fair trade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. For us...
What exactly does fair trade mean? Fair trade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. For us...
On a recent bright Bangalore morning, our autos crawled and jolted through the infamous city gridlock to reach the Fairtrade India office in Shivajinagar.
Yes, we were there to ooh and ahh over all their latest certified Fairtrade goodies. Yes, we were in great need of their recommendations for the best nearby dosa on offer (MTR on Commercial Street – heaven!).
But more than that, it was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with our close compadres in this movement for change we feel so passionately about, and to plan out some ideas for bringing even greater awareness of Fairtrade to consumers here in India.
The foundations of Fairtrade involvement in India are deep: for many years, there has been success in exporting selected agricultural material to established fair trade markets in Europe and the US. But what about the domestic market? What about the potential for real, large-scale impact and a movement for consumer change that would enable more and more farmers to switch to lifesaving fair trade and organic practices? It was this conviction that led both No Nasties and Fairtrade International to join with activists from across India for a dynamic grassroots exploration of how best to start involving domestic consumers in the movement and no longer concentrating purely on exports from the country.
What exactly does fair trade mean? Fair trade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.
By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the Fairtrade Minimum Price or Cost of Sustainable Production), fair trade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminate against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives. In addition to fair prices, producers are paid an extra Fairtrade Premium which can only be spent collectively; this dialogue has been transformational in bringing people together to fund projects that benefit the whole community – from water resource management to healthcare, education and training.
For us at No Nasties and our buddies at Fairtrade India, creating awareness and a sense of responsibility towards our farmers in India has always been a high priority. You can make such a difference through your shopping choices. Fairtrade India started out working with a handful of brands (No Nasties was proud to be India's first Fairtrade licensed clothing company!) and in the years that have followed there has been an increasingly excellent uptake from young businesses in the fields of cotton, tea, spices and rice.
Consumer engagement with the movement is really growing.
Buy a regular t-shirt, or regular rice, or regular tea, and you support the current industry. Buy organic and Fairtrade and you support a change. You don't need to alter your lifestyle to help. Do what you normally do, wear what you like to wear - just make informed decisions and choose well.
Look good, feel good, and do No Nasties.
Big thanks to Abhishek Jani of Fairtrade India for sharing his thoughts and plans with us for this blog post, and for many of the awesome images in this post.
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