Fair Trade

In global terms, conventional trade can be deeply unjust. In developing countries the world's poorest producers are often exploited, being paid a pittance for their labour and goods. On top of this, if there is a dramatic fall in commodity prices (cheaper goods for us… hooray!) these people have no cushion to protect them and are pushed into crippling debt or into losing their farms and homes.

The fair trade movement is trying to address this inequity by ensuring that farmers and workers in the developing world are given better prices for their goods, have decent working conditions, and some level of security.

There are a number of fair trade organisations working across the globe. We are licensees of the Fairtrade Foundation.

The Fairtrade Foundation schemes often work directly with individual producers or small collectives. There are three main requirements for the trading companies working with these producers:

Guaranteed minimum prices for goods:

These are above the mainstream market price and properly cover the cost of sustainable production and living.

Long term contracts:

These allow for future planning and give producers a degree of stability. They also ensure that farming methods are sustainable.

Fairtrade ‘premium’:

This is an additional payment (above the guaranteed price), which is specifically for community development. Different communities will use this in different ways (clean water and irrigation schemes, supporting local schools or clinics, toilets and sanitation… the list is long and varied), but the ‘premium’ helps to develop projects that will benefit both the producers and their wider community.

We think this is how trading should be: a fair exchange which allows respect and dignity on both sides of the transaction.

The Fairtrade® Mark

Chocolala carries the Fairtrade mark for 2 reasons:

1. It shows our commitment to the fair trade movement.
2. It’s a guarantee that if an appropriate fairly traded product is available, we use it… and that all of these ingredients have been certified as genuinely fairly traded in the way outlined above.

Although it’s been around for several years now, we'd never really paid the logo itself much attention before.

It’s true that we're not very bright, but it just looked a bit abstract…like an off–kilter yin-yang symbol… or (for some inexplicable reason) a demented parrot.

It was the Fairtrade Foundation website that enlightened us:

“The silhouette of a cheering person represents the people, both consumers and producers, behind Fairtrade. It gives a positive forward looking image to Fairtrade and underlines the licensees’ emphasis on quality.”

Once you see what it’s about, it’s so obvious… and it’s almost impossible to go back to the old way of thinking (unless you screw your eyes up really tight and make it go all blurry).

Finally, many of us go around thinking that there is a lot wrong with the world, but what can we do?… it’s all so big… and we're so busy… and there's never any spare time or energy or cash… and anyway, as individuals, nothing we do will make a difference.

It is big, but we can make a difference. So, if you'd rather light a candle than rail against the darkness, the one action that will have the most impact on global inequality is to:

Buy fair trade goods whenever possible.

Simple eh?… And if there are not many fair trade options available where you shop, ask/insist/pester until there are! Lecture over.

More about us and our ethics