The FAIRTRADE Mark, denoting fairly traded goods, is now becoming increasingly well known around the world. Harriet Lamb, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation describes how fairtrade is helping farmers in developing countries get a fair price for their produce.
In the UK the National Federation of Women's Institutes is a key member and every time WI member Mary Ellen Jones does her weekly shop in Wales she makes a difference to the lives of women thousands of miles away.
This is because Mary Ellen buys foods bearing the FAIRTRADE Mark. You may have seen it yourself - an increasing number of foods, from bananas and oranges to chocolate, teas and coffees, are sporting the symbol that stands for a better deal for farmers in the developing world.
'When I buy Fairtrade I know that the people who produce the products are getting a fair price,' said Mary Ellen. 'So many farmers don't even get enough to cover their costs. But with Fairtrade I know that they and their families are being treated decently.'
Fairtrade foods first hit Britain's shop shelves just ten years ago. Since then, sales have grown fast - thanks to more and more women like Mary Ellen buying Fairtrade, and telling their friends about it, and to countless WI groups holding special Fairtrade sessions.
And it is not just in the UK that Fairtrade is catching on. Women shopping in the USA, Canada and right across Europe are also putting foods with the FAIRTRADE Mark into their shopping baskets.
But the stories behind the sales graphs are even more compelling. Sivapackiam Muthusamy is a picker on Stockholm tea estate in Sri Lanka, which is a registered Fairtrade supplier. 'Before we were very afraid to talk to the manager - especially we women,' she explains. 'We'd run into the fields when a manager was coming.'
Sivapackiam is no longer so shy. Now she is a vocal member of the Fairtrade Joint Body, sitting with fellow workers and management to decide how to use the extra money generated through Fairtrade. One priority was getting electricity installed. She explains: 'A year ago, we didn't have any electricity in our houses. All the members of the Joint Body got together and discussed how we could pay to install it. Some money came from the Fairtrade premium and we each took out a loan. With electricity, my children can study at night. In the morning I can iron their clothes and we can use a hot plate for cooking. I am happy that Fairtrade helps me support my family.'
It is an experience shared by many women in Fairtrade. On the other side of the world, Blanca Rosa Molina farms coffee in Nicaragua. She explains how on the normal coffee market prices reached a 30-year low last year and thousands were forced out of work, many surviving only on food donations. But Blanca's Fairtrade-registered organisation received a guaranteed $1.26 per lb compared to the current market price of just 65 cents.
She says: 'The Fairtrade price enabled me to raise my children, send my daughter to university and build my house bit by bit.'
Electricity, ironing, education, home improvements - the kind of things that we take for granted, just like our weekly trip to the shops. But Sivapackiam and Blanca Rosa don't take them for granted and nor does Mary Ellen. They all know the difference that buying Fairtrade can make. 'A little can go a long way,' said Mary Ellen.Find out more about Fairtrade by visiting www.fairtrade.org.uk
05 June 2004