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In March this year
Traidcraft celebrated its 25th birthday. Its founder, Richard
Adams, believed that once consumers knew that by choosing fair trade
products they could make a real
difference to poor producers, they would not only buy but help in
other ways. This last year sales in the U.K. approached £200m and
governments, big retailers, processors and manufacturers all now take
notice. Our personal choices can indeed affect global society. However,
processors and retailers still make more money on many fair trade products
than the producers, but with technical and manufacturing
support some countries, for example
India, are now able to process and pack their products, thus gaining
more financial benefit. Obviously, much more help is needed
here.
Since Traidcraft is a truly professional trading organisation with an
abundance of development knowledge, its advice and expertise is eagerly
sought by and given to local communities trying to optimise the goods and
skills they have to offer, from bee-keepers in Tanzania, wood-carvers and
herbalists in Kenya to tea workers in S. India. Here the tea industry is in
real crisis and Traidcraft is working with small tea growers to assess their
market opportunities and to provide marketing training, while
at the same time helping the workers and
unions to protect their rather limited rights.
The
lobbying and influencing of businesses and governments is a vital part of
the work of any fair trade organisation. On a national scale, large
businesses have to be made aware of the good and bad effects their decisions
have on small producers and co-operatives and encouraged towards more
ethical policies. Internationally, Traidcraft has campaigned with some
success to prevent poorer countries being forced by Economic Partnership
Agreements to open their markets, when they can in no way compete with for
example, European goods. For many countries in
Africa and the Pacific 'reciprocal trade liberalisation' is not a viable
option.
Traidcraft supports and buys from many small rural craft co-operatives, in
very many cases run by women. Not only
does this bring money and some degree of
independence but also keeps alive crafts
which otherwise might disappear or degenerate. Rural centres are set
up from which raw materials are distributed, then the
final products are brought back to the
centre where ideas, marketing knowledge and future plans are co-ordinated.
Research and design expertise are often funded by Traidcraft.
In
1999, a group of women at St. Mary's started a monthly stall selling
Traidcraft groceries in the church hall
after morning service. It has been very successful and we have many
regular customers but we feel it's time for a re-launch. So watch the pew
sheets for the date, we hope the end of
September, and come along to try new products, collect the Winter
catalogue and find out more specifically how your purchase of Traidcraft
products can improve the income and prospects of farmers, producers and
craftsmen in developing countries.
Patricia Hutchinson
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