ECONOMY: A Fair Way to Beat the Gloom

• by Julio Godoy (berlin)
• Wednesday, March 04, 2009
• Inter Press Service

In Germany, sales of fair trade goods reached 78 million euros in the first half of 2008, Claudia Brueck, spokesperson for the organisation Transfair told IPS. 'That sum represents a 25 percent growth compared with the same period of 2007.' Transfair is an umbrella organisation for German stores and businesses involved in fair trade.

Brueck said figures for all of 2008 will be available in April. 'But we can already say that the trend in the fair trade market continues to be positive, despite the global economic crisis.'

Despite this growth, 'fair trade' goods are a negligible percentage of German imports. In 2007, Germany imported 1,121 billion dollars worth of goods. This includes mostly industrial products, in which fair trade goods are not represented, but it does show how small the fair trade sector really is.

Transfair defines fair trade as 'a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that 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 - especially in the South.'

Most certified fair trade goods are food and beverages such as rice, fruits, honey, wine, tea, chocolate and coffee. But the goods include clothing, flowers and handicrafts from countries as varied as Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Tanzania, Namibia, India and Bangladesh.

Brueck said many producers in the South have been complaining that the economic crisis is making it more difficult to produce goods respecting high social and environmental standards. 'But consumers in the industrialised countries, not only in Germany, appear committed to buying goods of certified social and environmental quality.'

Many fair traders claimed at the World Organic Trade Fair held in the southern German city Nuremberg Feb. 19-22 that demand for goods produced in the South that respect social and environmental standards continues to grow across the industrialised countries.

Rob Cameron, CEO of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) says fair trade products 'will continue (growing) in 2009, but more slowly than the (recent) historic surges.'

Global sales of fair trade certified products grew 40 percent a year on average over the last five years, according to FLO. Fair trade certified sales amounted to 2.3 billion euros worldwide at the end of 2007, according to the FLO.

The country with the largest retail sales value of fair trade certified goods in 2007 was the U.S. at 730 million euros, followed by Britain (704 million euros), France (210 million), Switzerland (158 million) and Germany (141 million). Other industrialised countries, such as Canada, Austria and the Netherlands also have a significant market - 80, 56, and 47 million euros respectively.

Cameron says it was estimated at an informal telephone discussion Feb. 9 and 10 among ten national fair trade labelling initiatives (in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK) that fair trade will grow between 10 to 25 percent in the upcoming fiscal year. He put the total global value of certified fair trade goods sales for 2008 at 3.2 billion euros.

'From all the indicators so far, consumers support for fair trade remains remarkably strong,' Cameron told IPS. 'With financial uncertainty consumers are making more considered choices, and fair trade remains important to them. This is good news for producers in developing countries who need fair trade now more than ever.'

A survey carried out late 2008 in several industrialised countries by Edelman GP, a watchdog organisation monitoring corporate behaviour, found that 'globally 80 percent of consumers feel that during a recession it is still important for brands and companies to set aside money for social purposes.'

The survey found that women are more likely than men to agree that 'during a recession it is still important for brands and companies to set aside money for a good cause or purpose (82 percent vs 78 percent)' and that 'if a company has to cut its costs during a recession it should not stop giving to good causes (75 percent vs 70 percent).'

Yet another report on consumer behaviour, by the Cooperative Bank, says that the global recession does not stop growth in ethical consumption and fair trade.

Cameron says these studies show that 'despite feeling the pinch, 92 percent of consumers (in the industrialised world) still claimed to be willing to pay extra for a product that is ethically certified.'

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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