Sainsbury's unfair change to Fairtrade designation - join the campaign

From Brent Fairtrade Network

Sainsbury's has announced plans for "Fairly Traded" tea to replace their Fairtrade Red Label, Gold Label and green brands of tea: see Sainsbury’s announcement. The new system will not be independently audited and will take away from producers their right to decide democratically how to spend the Fairtrade Premium. Tea is a pilot for this new approach which could then spread to coffee, bananas and many other products.

This plan is opposed by the Fairtrade Foundation  and by Bananalink, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam GB, Traidcraft and the Women's Institute LINK

You can write to Sainsbury's Chief Executive Mr Mike Coupe at mike.coupe@sainsburys.co.uk or by letter to: Mr Mike Coupe, Chief Executive, J Sainsbury’s, Sainsbury’s Store Support Centre, 33 Holborn,  London EC1N 2HT. In my letter I expressed three main concerns:

1. This system will lack the independent auditing that is a key part of the Fairtrade system.
2. This system will take away from producers their power to decide democratically how to invest their Fairtrade Premium.
3. The new system will confuse consumers by adding yet another label. It would be much better to stick to the well-established, soundly based and widely recognised Fairtrade label.

Fairtrade stall at Brent Civic Centre Friday March 10th

From Brent Fairtrade Network 

 

CELEBRATING FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT

FAIRTRADE STALL AT BRENT CIVIC CENTRE

ON FRIDAY 10 MARCH - AND A NEW FILM

By the kind permission of the Borough Council, Brent Fairtrade Network is holding a stall at Brent Civic Centre 10.00-14.00 on Friday 10 March.  We shall be encouraging library users, Council staff and others passing by to buy Fairtrade goods at local shops and cafes. Do look in if you are nearby. Here is how to get there: www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/brent-civic-centre/your-visit-to-the-civic-centre/

The Fairtrade Foundation has produced a film to bring home the shocking reality that Fairtrade is tackling.  Watch this. 

Fairtrade Fortnight ends on Saturday 11 March. Remember to look out for Fairtrade products in your shopping this week. 

DOES FAIRTRADE HAVE A FUTURE?

PUBLIC DEBATE ON 17 NOVEMBER

We had an excellent debate at St Martin's Church, Kensal Rise, on 17 November, jointly hosted with Fairtrade groups in Harrow, Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston. Our speakers were Anne Cooper of Oxfam, Barbara Crowther of the Fairtrade Foundation, Stuart Singleton-White of the Rainforest Alliance and Vidya Rangan of ISEAL, the global movement of sustainability standards. Points that emerged included the following:

•   Is the Fairtrade model still a good one? Yes - but it will continue to change, as illustrated by the Cocoa Life partnership announced that day with Cadbury's.

•   Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade are complementary - but the scope for collaboration is shown by the fact that 80% of their standards are the same. There are now some 450 ethical labels, hence the need for ISEAL's work to clarify which can be trusted. 

•   The new Fairtrade Sourcing Programme enables products to be sold with a new Fairtrade logo when only the cocoa, sugar or cotton involved is Fairtrade. This will increase sales of Fairtrade products. 

•   Only 1% of world agricultural trade is ethically certified so there is huge potential for growth.

Feedback after the event was very positive. The consensus seemed to be that it was an excellent event with very good speakers. The main regret was that only 40 people attended. It was felt that a more central location could have attracted people from all over London. As it was, we welcomed several visitors from outside Brent, some of whom we now welcome as new readers of this newsletter. 

We are most grateful to the speakers and St Martin's Church for making this debate possible. 

Does Fairtrade have a future? Public debate November 17th

PUBLIC DEBATE ON FAIRTRADE

KENSAL GREEN ON THURS 17 NOV

Brent Fairtrade Network is joining with Fairtrade groups in Harrow, Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston to host a debate on the future of Fairtrade on

Thursday 17 November 7-9 pm at St Martin’s Church, Kensal Green,

Mortimer Road, NW10 5SN.

All are welcome and entry is free. We shall be discussing topics such as the following:

•   Is the Fairtrade model still a good one?

•   Why not a Fairtrade label for manufactured goods?

•   Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade: are two labels needed?

•   Why do we need the Fairtrade Sourcing Programme?

•   Workers’ wages and rights raised by the critical SOAS report in 2014 “Fairtrade, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia and Uganda”

•   What is the future of ethical certification?

•   How should Fairtrade respond to the proliferation of schemes?

We have a great line up of speakers to discuss these topics with:

•   Anne Cooper, Oxfam

•   Barbara Crowther, Fairtrade Foundation

•   Stuart Singleton-White, Rainforest Alliance

•   Vidya Rangan, ISEAL: global movement of sustainability standards

The event starts at 7 pm with Fairtrade refreshments and stall: bring cash or cheques for early Christmas shopping. From 7.30 pm we shall hear briefly from the speakers on the topics above before opening up discussion, ending by 9 pm. 

If you plan to attend please register: www.eventbrite.com/e/does-fairtrade-have-a-future-tickets-28817702524  This helps us with the planning – but you are welcome to come even without registering.