Fair Trade is everyone's business
|
|
|
Do you drink or eat coffee, tea or chocolate?
Do you purchase these items for your school food service,
staff room, catering or special events?
If you answered 'yes', you are not alone! Most Australians
consume these products, yet many of us are not fully aware
of the impact of our choices.
Buying Fair trade products is an easy choice for us as Australians,
and costs us little as individuals, but can make a huge difference
globally to countless other people's lives.
Fair trade is not about price - it is about doing what is
right. It is about life and death, and the opportunity we
each have to impact on others - negatively or positively.
What is a human life worth? Do we close our eyes just because
a product is slightly cheaper, or more readily available on
our supermarket shelves?
We each have a choice about what we do, and each one of us
can make a difference, just as the behaviour of large companies
also makes a difference. As individuals, what you or I can
do may seem to be just a drop in the ocean, but remember -
the ocean is made up of drops.
"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture
of charity, it is an act of justice" - Nelson Mandela
|
The FAIRTRADE Certification Mark is one way to recognise whether
products are genuinely Fair Trade |
An explanation from Oxfam
Trade has the power to generate incredible wealth,
and elevate people out of poverty.
So why then, are millions of people still so poor?
Because the rules controlling trade heavily favour
rich countries. And it's these rigged trade rules and double standards
that are stifling trade's potential to lift people out of poverty.
The fact is something's very wrong with world trade.
Oxfam is committed to putting it right. Oxfam is asking
for "fair trade" - trade rules and government and company practices
that enable people, including poor people in developing countries,
to reach their full potential, while respecting their basic rights.
Oxfam is working with organisations around the world
to shift global trade rules so that they help millions of poor farmers
and workers in developing countries trade their way out of poverty.
And Oxfam also is working closer to home to promote
Fairtrade products in Australia.
This is where where YOU come in. You are powerful
as a consumer - what you choose to buy shapes the world we live
in and can literally change someone's life for the better. So grab
yourself a Fairtrade coffee and find out how together we can make
trade fair.
Source: http://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/trade
An explanation from the Fair Trade Association
Fair trade is an alternative approach to conventional
trade.
It is a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency
and respect, and seeks greater equity in international trade. It
contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading
conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers
and workers in developing communities.
Fair trade is a global movement dedicated to tackling
poverty and empowering producers and artisans in developing countries
by providing fair prices for products and resources.
Fair trade is a response to the international trading
environment which unfairly disadvantages communities that exist
at the bottom of global supply chains.
The majority of 1.4 billion people living in extreme
poverty (less than US$1.25 a day) live in rural areas and depend
on agriculture for their own food as well as their economic livelihood.
For small farmers, gaining access to market or price information
is difficult and as a result, many become increasingly dependent
on middlemen and receive smaller and smaller returns for their work.
In bad times, many lose their only property - their land - and thus,
their livelihoods.
Similarly many plantation workers endure low pay,
unsafe working environments and poor living conditions. Too often
they lack the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect
their lives on the plantation.
The way that many products are produced, traded and
consumed is simply unjust. This is a major cause of continuing world
poverty.
Fair trade is about giving disadvantaged people power:
by paying producers and workers fair prices for their work, by helping
them gain the skills and knowledge they need to develop their businesses
and to operate in the global economy, and by challenging unfair
trading practices.
It is about providing a fair go, not charity.
For us as consumers, choosing "Fairtrade" provides
an everyday way to invest in helping these farmers develop their
businesses and improve life for their families and communities.
With every cup of Fairtrade coffee drunk or every
Fair Trade gift given, we are helping to make a difference to farmers
and workers, artisans, their families and communities. With your
involvement that number can grow.
Currently, the range of Fairtrade Certified products
available throughout Australia and New Zealand which carry the Fairtrade
label includes coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, sports balls
and products made from cotton. Fairtrade Certified and labelled
rice, sugar and quinoa are also available.
Source: http://www.fta.org.au
|
|
Local supermarkets - look for items branded with the
"Fairtrade" logo (see top of page)
|
|
|
Oxfam Shop
www.oxfamshop.org.au
|
|
- Cocoa
- Drinking chocolate
- Coffee beans
- Ground coffee
- Instant coffee
- Tea
- Herbal tea
- Chutneys and spices
- Noodles, quinoa
- Nuts, oils
- Order online
|
Bulk purchase offer: 15% discount if $150+ purchases
of selected coffee, tea and chocolate
See separate list online for bulk items available + prices
Email: bulktrading@oxfam.org.au
- detail products wanted, state preferred method of payment
and you will be contacted by a customer rep to finalise order
Shop locations:
Chadstone: Shop 311A, Chadstone Shopping Centre, Phone:
03 9569 5080
Geelong: Shop 1193, Westfield Geelong, Phone: 03 5222
3598
Doncaster: Shop G203, Westfield Doncaster, Phone: 03
9848 2066
Knox City: Shop 3111, Knox Shopping Centre, Phone:
03 9801 8555
Carlton: 132 Leicester Street Carlton, Phone: 03 9347
2299
Southland: Shop 3060, Westfield Southland, Phone: 03
9584 8540
Camberwell: Shop 5 & 6 Camberwell Arcade, 600/606 Burke
Road Camberwell, Phone: 03 9882 9599
Melbourne: Shop 45, Walk Arcade, Bourke Street Mall,
Melbourne Phone: 03 9650 6060
|
|
|
Universal Village
www.universalvillage.com.au
|
|
|
Unit 3 / 4 Solwood Lane, Blackburn VIC 3130
ph: 03 8812 2950
fx: 03 8812 2961
Email: nicole@universalvillage.com.au
* Fairtrade product catalogue available online with details
re ordering and payment
* Order direct - minimum order $150 (ex GST)
* Products also available through organic retailers and IGA
supermarkets
|
|
|
New Internationalist shop
www.newint.com.au
|
|
|
|
|
|
Power Super Foods
www.powersuperfoods.com
- Cacao Power products (cacao beans; cacao powder; cacao
nibs; cacao crunch)
|
|
|
Tribes and Nations
www.tribesandnations.com.au
- Coffee
- Tea
- Cocoa
- Downloadable posters - "Why use fairtrade cocoa/coffee/tea?"
- "One man represents 25 million - taste coffee without
any bitterness" - "Fairtrade cocoa/coffee/tea benefits"
- "Coffee/tea facts" etc
|
Online stores for Fair Trade items besides
food:
Websites:
|
|
Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO)
www.fairtrade.net
- What is Fair Trade?
- The history of Fair Trade
- Benefits of Fair Trade
- How Fair Trade products are certified
- Listings of available Fair Trade products
|
|
|
Fair Trade Association
www.fta.org.au
- promoting fair trade in Australia and New Zealand
- where to buy fair trade products (click
here)
- lists of fair trade wholesalers and distributors - lists
of other ethical traders (click
here)
- downloadable resources (click
here)
- ways to get involved (click
here)
- free newsletter
|
|
|
World Vision
http://trans.worldvision.com.au/default.aspx
What is the real cost of chocolate? http://www.worldvision.com.au/Issues/Human_Trafficking___Slavery/WhatIsThisAbout/What_is_the_real_cost_of_chocolate_.aspx
Actions you can take - see ideas at end of article
eg.
- join the "Don't trade lives" campaign: click
here
- sign the petition - "Don't trade lives"
- demand ethical chocolate - create a demand - if you
do purchase or eat chocolate, contact supermarkets to tell
them you'd like to buy ethical/fair trade chocolate (contact
details supplied for a number of supermarkets and retailers)
- hand out "Don't trade lives" coupons to local retailers
and canteen suppliers (download coupons from website)
- read Good Chocolate Guide to Australia for details
of brands and suppliers
|
| |
|
Some short informative video clips on
Fair Trade:
How can I make a difference? I'm just
one person.
I don't have any influence over the big
companies.
It doesn't affect my family so why should
I care?
Why should I even try?
One person heard someone speak at a conference about "slavery
today". He bought the issue to the attention of his church.
Members of his church informed various schools. Students and families
wrote letters, made phone calls and boycotted various companies.
One of these was the biggest chocolate company in Australia, which
has now introduced Fair Trade Chocolate into their range. One person
can make a real contribution to real change.
At a glance: what can I do?
- Choose Fair Trade products for your school canteen, staff
room and catering purposes and for special events such
as suppers, sports days, thank you morning teas, etc
- Choose Fair Trade products for your personal use
- Talk about why you choose Fair Trade with your colleagues,
staff, students and volunteers
- Be informed and aware - read some of the articles and
videos listed above
- Join the "Don't Trade Lives" campaign (see
above)
VSCA's Aims
VSCA Inc Membership
Back to top
|
