GFA has always sought to involve our MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, in our events and campaigns. In 2024 we invited her to make the pledge to do everything she can to change trade for the better. She agreed and is one of 100 MPs to have made this commitment as follows:
‘I commit to working with fair trade campaigners in my constituency, and in Parliament, to support farmers and workers affected by unfair trade all around the world and to build a fairer future.’
‘I recognise that farmers and workers in lower-income countries urgently need fair pay and must be part of the conversations on how to tackle the poverty and climate crisis that threatens their future.
‘As an MP, I will do everything I can to make sure trade, development and climate policies contribute to this fairer future that benefits all.’
GFA encourages people to write to their MP about issues that affect Fairtrade farmers: e,g, finance for adapting to climate change; laws that make UK companies responsible for the abuse of human rights in their supply chains.
Take an action to support Fairtrade producers
Choose Fairtrade products so more farmers can earn a fairer deal, with more resources to invest in their communities.
Spread the word: Tell at least 10 people how farmers are using the power of Fairtrade to change things for the better.
Write a letter to you local newspaper and post on social media.
Write to or meet with your MP to tell her that fairness in trade matters to you.
Vote fair: When elections happen commit to asking candidates what they will do make trade fair.
Join with others in peaceful public demonstrations
To find out more about these Fairtrade issues in the news please click on the pictures to follow the links below:
Fairtrade and Trade Justice
Fairtrade and Climate Justice
Fairtrade farmers and workers are on the frontline of climate change. A 2020 report from the Fairtrade Foundation explores the impacts and implications of the climate crisis for farmers and consumers.
Farmers are working hard to tackle the climate crisis and adapt to change to protect their land and livelihoods. (see the Environment Page on this website) They are demanding trade that will create a sustainable future for people and planet, and using sustainable farming techniques in line with Fairtrade Standards. You can hear their stories here.
Living wage for women cocoa farmers in West Africa
Since 2019, we have been supporting Fairtrade’s ambitious public campaign, to ask our government and the chocolate industry (worth £4billion in the UK alone) to lead the way to a sustainable future for cocoa farmers.
Our vision for living incomes is both radical and simple; we want all cocoa farmers to earn a living income from growing cocoa. A living income would provide farmers with a decent standard of living, enough to cover all their cocoa farming costs, including tackling climate change, and enough to cover their basic human rights, like a nutritious diet, children’s education and healthcare. (More about it here + videos)
The living wage campaign has been extended from 2021 to producers of other crops including coffee and bananas
Fairtrade Flowers and Women’s Rights and welfare
In Ethiopia – where 85% of the workforce are either female, migrant, or under 25 – Fairtrade launched the “Dignity for All” programme to empower workers on Fairtrade certified flower farms. Through this 4-year programme), workers and plantation management are gaining skills to strengthen social dialogue and the remediation of human rights violations. Workers and their unions are being empowered to negotiate living wages and improved conditions, and to advocate for workers’ rights, such as trade unions, health & safety committees, and gender committees. The programme is funded by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aldi UK (who source their cut roses from one of the participating farms), and the Swedish Postcode Lottery.
In the flower industry overall 70% of workers are women. The latest research (Oct. 2024) highlights the positive impact of the Fairtrade Premium on women flower workers in Kenya and how it supports them to invest in education, healthcare and housing. Read more
Child labour (impact of COVID-19)
The COVID-19 pandemic was a disaster for millions of children. School closures, coupled with limits on migrant labour, mean that boys and girls are more vulnerable to child labour. If parents become infected with the virus, children and youth, particularly girls, may end up assuming greater responsibilities for their family’s survival.
Longer term, the economic downturn will drive even more people into poverty and, as a likely result, more children into child labour. Proposals have already been made to adjust the legal requirements for young workers (age 16 and above) to cope with labour shortages in the coffee sector. It is probable that other sectors and countries will follow, reversing hard-won gains. Weaker laws and stretched government budgets will result in more child labour, especially in rural and agricultural sectors.
Find out how Fairtrade is responding to these challenges in four key ways – here
Who made my clothes?
Have you ever wondered who made your clothes? How much they’re paid, and what their lives are like?
three people who made your clothes
Fashion has become a byword for exploitation, over-consumption, waste and environmental damage.
Since the Rana Plaza tragedy in April, 2013, in which a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,134 and injuring 2,500 workers, millions of people have been demanding a fairer, safer, more transparent fashion industry. And brands are listening. To ensure they continue to listen and to create the permanent change needed to ensure we never see a tragedy like Rana Plaza again, people are being asked to join the Fashion Revolution and keep asking one simple question: Who Made My Clothes? You can:
learn about Fairtrade cotton in this video (12 minutes)
Get involved in Fashion Revolution Week in April – learn more
Find out which brands offer ethically produced clothes – Fairtrade Cotton – here ; local ethical firm in Isle of Wight here ; Fairtrade cotton school clothes from Southampton firm – here
