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Jeff
The Small Producer Symbol (SPP), a certification and labeling system created and run by small Fair Trade producers in Latin America, reports that now 33 small producer organizations are certified under the system and another 16 are in process of getting certified. 11 others have applied for certification.
Also, a new Canadian importer, N. J. Douek & Sons, has joined the list of registered companies and a German buyer is in process of registration.
The system welcomed its sixth certification body, the Colombian certifier Biotrópico. Fair Trade pioneer Equal Exchange recently made its SPP coffee purchases public, which will enable Equal Exchange to launch eight Latin American coffees under the SPP in the course of 2013.
More at Small Producer Symbol
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Jeff
 “Fair Trade, Sustainability and Social Change”, by Ian Hudson, Mark Hudson and Mara Fridell, should be required reading for anyone interested in the strategic direction, challenges and opportunities of Fair Trade and its social movement. Only once every 5-10 years does such a thoughtful book come out about the big picture and major issues in Fair Trade. Although a bit academic at times for the lay reader, the authors present in accessible style critical topics like the pros & cons of various ways actors message about Fair Trade, how Fair Trade compares to other sustainability certifications, and tensions arising as Fair Trade engages large corporations.
More at FTRN review of “Fair Trade, Sustainability and Social Change”
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Jeff
(Note – this post was corrected on 4-22-13 to report that the new cotton network operates within Fairtrade Africa, not as a 4th regional producer network in the FLO system)
A new producer network, within Fairtrade Africa, has been created by cotton producers from Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. They met in Dakar to set up a network which will represent the voice of cotton farmers in the Fairtrade system.
Currently cotton producers in Africa are already being represented by AproCar, the African Cotton Producer Association. The new network will partner with the existing organization, complementing rather than duplicating its efforts to uplift the situation of African cotton farmers.
More at Fairtrade Africa post
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Jeff
Through the Fair Wild Certification program, the first-ever Fair Trade certification was given for wild-collected cocoa in November 2012. Most cocoa, including Fair Trade cocoa, is farmed rather than wild-collected. The Yuracaré indigenous people of the Amazon basin in Bolivia formed an association, Yuracaré Forest Cocoa Gatherers Association (ARCASY), and partnered with Rainforest Exquisite Products S.A. (REPSA), a Bolivian company that specializes in the sustainable production and commercialization of non-wood forest products, to pursue certification. Around 150 collectors / harvesters currently make up ARCASY.
More at BTC post
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Jeff
On February 11, 2013 the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) released a report on alleged U.S. labor rights violations by Theo Chocolate and IMO, the “Fair For Life” certification body of Theo’s Fair Trade recognition. IMO does not accept the report findings and conclusions. Theo also declares the accusations false.
The ILRF report states that “IMO violates consumer trust, changes code to accommodate companies’ interference with worker organizing… and neglects to intervene to uphold its commitment to fair trade standards.” The report states that Theo “hired an anti-union consultant and was violating the international labor standards promoted by “Fair for Life” during a union organizing campaign. When Theo workers decided to join the Teamsters, management responded with hostility, intimidation and retaliation including threatening to close the company if workers formed a union, harassing union supporters, driving several workers to leave the company, and firing at least one union supporter.”
See ILRF report
See IMO response
See Theo response
Added 4-18-13: Triple Pundit Investigates ILRF & Theo Issues
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Jeff
The Citizens Trade Campaign invites people to join its initiative to oppose the TPP and fast tracking:
In his State of the Union speech, President Obama claimed that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will “boost American exports, support Americans jobs and level the playing field.” Please take action now to let Congress know you don’t buy it.
The legacy of trade pacts on which the TPP is modeled has clearly been one of job destruction, not job creation.
Since the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement was implemented during President Obama’s first term, our bilateral trade deficit is up and U.S. exports to South Korea are down. Before that, China’s entry into the World Trade Organization caused our deficit with that country to skyrocket. And before that, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) converted a U.S. trade surplus with Mexico into a large trade deficit.
All this means the loss of livelihood for hard-working American families and an increase in sweatshop working conditions throughout the globe. There is zero evidence that the Office of U.S. Trade Representative has taken these lessons to heart. Instead, leaked texts suggest that the TPP will become a “NAFTA on steroids.”
Congress should not delegate away its constitutional authority to ensure trade agreements work for most Americans. It must oppose Fast Tracking the TPP. Instead, Congress should set mandatory trade negotiating requirements that protect fundamental labor rights; eliminate “investor-state” offshoring incentives; maintain “Buy American” government procurement policies; safeguard against currency manipulation; and include strong Rules of Origin.
TAKE ACTION: Please send a message to Congress now urging them to oppose fast tracking the TPP. Once you’ve done that, consider writing a Letter to the Editor to your local newspaper to make your views even further heard.
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Jeff
IMO announced the upcoming minor revision of its Fair for Life Program in 2013 by the Bio-Foundation:
The scope of this revision will be Module 1 (Labelling and Control Requirements) and Module 4 (Handling Operations) only, as implementation of the programme in by now over 180 operations worldwide has indicated several technical aspects that need to be further clarified or strengthened for effective implementation of the programme and its objectives.
In mid March 2013 stakeholders will be formally invited to a public stakeholder consultation of the proposed revised standard documents.
- First round of consultation Mid March to End of April (45 days)
- Second round of consultation of 2nd drafts June to Mid July (45 days)
- Final standard to be ready by Oct. 2013
FFL revision 2013 PROPOSED ISSUES TO BE REVIEWED AND REVISED
Control & Labelling Requirements (Module 1)
- For Life logo indications and labelling requirements; additional Fair for life logo version negative print ; slight modifications to logo versions and compulsory indications on product labels
- Procedures for Fair for Life brand holders (incl. exceptions)
- Audit procedures: update after review against GSCP methodology
- Grievance and public complaints procedures
- Fair for Life Rating publication on the Fair for life website (compulsory, or at least compulsory minimum information statement to be published)
- Annex 2 list of equivalent schemes
- Annex 3-5 Composition rules for multi-ingredient products (improve clarity; consistency with compulsory labelling indications in main part of Module 1)
Fair for Life Handler (Module 4)
- Updated guidance on procedures and necessary information in case of purchase from other fair trade schemes
- Review handler criteria, as some are very difficult to verify
Review chapter on social responsibility and permitted proofs of decent labour practices, including the IMO verification of responsible labour practices option.
More at Fair for Life
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Jeff
Fairtrade International (FLO) has published its annual monitoring report, “Monitoring the Scope and Benefits of Fairtrade: Fourth Edition 2012″, filled with statistics, stories and analysis, describing its global Fairtrade system. Since FLO was the recognition system for about 90% of all Fair Trade goods sold globally in 2012, its statistics tell important parts of the larger Fair Trade story. This report is the definitive resource for data about Fairtrade producers, products, sales, countries and more.
Some key data presented in the 108-page report include numbers of farmers and hired workers by country and by product, sales volumes & values, premium payment amounts, how premiums were used, % of producer total sales that are sold on Fairtrade terms, representation of women, and much more.
More at FLO release and full report
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Jeff
Reported by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC):
On New Year’s Eve, the U.S. Senate passed a simple extension of the 2008 Farm Bill through September 30, 2013, as part of a much bigger legislative package to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. The House approved the Senate bill late on New Year’s Day and President Obama signed it into law on January 2.
The fiscal cliff deal was the final death knell for the 2012 Farm Bill that the full Senate passed in June and that the House Agriculture Committee passed in July. The deal was also a very sudden death knell for the reasonable modified farm bill extension measure that NSAC worked diligently to promote over the past several months.
Approval of the simple farm bill extension also means that the new Congress that begins this month will have to start the process of reauthorizing a new, full five-year farm bill from scratch.
More at NSAC post
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Jeff
The Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN) inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM) and National Conference took place on January 10th and 11th in Calgary. The event saw individuals from civil society, businesses and institutions from across Canada come together to build the foundations for a strong fair trade movement in Canada.
Members unanimously adopted a motion to recommend to Fairtrade Canada that for the Fair Trade Town and Fair Trade Campus programs, the (FLO) Fairtrade certification system be adopted as the baseline standard. The purpose of this recommendation was to help bring clarity to an otherwise crowded world of certification systems; seeking to uphold rigorous standards and keep systems accountable to constantly improving standards.
The AGM finished with the election of directors, welcoming back Zack Gross, Nancy Allan, Kelly James, Kaan Williams, Bruce Morton and Nadia Berger, and welcoming Sasha Caldera and Shirley Fagnen.
More at CFTN Conference Recap post
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