Fairtrade

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Fairtrade International Counters Allegations in Bloomberg article on Burkina Faso cotton

In accordance with its internal Child Protection Policy and Procedures, Fairtrade International followed up on the allegations made in the Bloomberg article, “Victoria’s Secret Revealed in Child Picking Burkina Faso Cotton,” published on 15 December 2011. We have found substantial contradictions in the facts presented in the article based on the information we have obtained from our field assessment.

Fairtrade International takes any allegations on the violation of human rights of the child very seriously. Following Cam Simpson’s allegations, we travelled with leading officials of UNPCB to the village of Benvar in Burkina Faso. We met the Fairtrade cotton producers and impacted children and families identified in the Bloomberg article. The aim of our trip was to conduct an assessment, develop a remediation process for impacted children, and provide support to UNPCB to further develop their actions plans to eliminate child labour and implement child protection measures.

Fairtrade conducted child safe interviews with the people identified in the article as children (persons below the age of 18). We can report that at the time of our interviews the “girl” and her family identified in the article were secure and safe. However, the information they gave us regarding the facts reported and the methods the journalist used concerns us greatly.

Most significantly, according to our information, the “girl” who featured prominently in the article is not 13 years old as reported. We have seen her birth certificate and corroborated her age with school records. She cannot accurately be described as a child as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (i.e., under 18 years old).

In addition, she is not involved in cotton growing and therefore is not participating in Fairtrade certified cotton production. Instead she works on a family-owned vegetable farm, growing locally consumed products for which there are no Fairtrade Standards nor Fairtrade certified producers in this region.

Read the rest of the statement here…

Survival International Blog: The world’s original scientists’ observations of climate change

Good message from Survival International and the people they represent on the UN climate change conference (COP17 that we’ve been posting on as well).

survivalinternational:

Most tribal peoples have developed an intimate knowledge of their surroundings, and observe minute changes in their ecosystems. As the UN’s climate change conference begins in Durban, Survival calls for the ecological knowledge and insights of tribal peoples to be heeded in global decisions…

Crunch time and not getting close to an agreement

I recently came back from Durban as I was participating as an NGO delegate at COP17. As climate change and COP17 is in my mind and I know the conference is shortly coming to an end, I decided to check major news channels to see what they are saying about the COP – only to find out that nothing is being said. It turns out that the Euro crisis summit in Brussels is the major headline across all major news channels. How disappointing is it to see that the European economy is far more important for the media than coming to an international agreement that will have major repercussions on people across the planet? This is how it is – in the world we live in, the economy is more important than people! This is the lesson we learned from Greece – the Greek economy is far more important than the livelihood of the Greek population!

Time is running out and still no agreement. From what it seems, major developed states are not keen to give in their national economic interests for the well being of all – their economy is far more important! If we wait to see all major economic powers come to an agreement, it might be too late. Civil society and the private sector need to take action to address climate change – we need to reduce our climate change impact but more importantly help the most vulnerable cope with the climate change challenges they are facing.

Fairtrade as many other NGOs brought a delegation to COP17. The delegation was made up of staff but most importantly Fairtrade producers. Fairtrade producers had the opportunity to voice their concerns and demands as they are increasingly affected by climate change – productivity decreasing, revenues decreasing and thus their livelihoods being affected. COP17 was also an opportunity to learn and exchange with other organizations and businesses that are willing and committed to do something about climate change.

Fairtrade is committed to address climate change as it has an impact on the realization of its mission (empower producers to combat poverty, strengthen their position and take more control over their lives). To address this major challenge, Fairtrade is looking into developing adaptation and mitigation mechanisms to support the most vulnerable. To develop these mechanisms, Fairtrade needs to partner with other organizations that share similar views and objectives, which is to help the most vulnerable cope with climate change challenges.

Climate change is not fair. Climate change was not caused by the people that are the most vulnerable to climate change and currently the most affected. Innovative and supportive mechanisms need to be developed to help the most vulnerable cope with climate change. And to do this, we cannot wait for the developed states, responsible for causing climate change, to come to an agreement.

Carlos Canales is the Climate Change and Policy Development Officer at Fairtrade International (FLO)

Fairtrade Producers tell MEPs the real story of climate change

One of the main reasons that the Fairtrade producer networks decided that they wanted to be present in Durban was their simple desire to make their voices heard directly. All too often those directly affected by climate change are represented in talks such as these by ‘experts’ with a fantastic level of technical knowledge but all too little experience of living with the uncertainty and fear that climate change brings for those reliant on the weather to stay alive and feed their children.

As well as speaking at other people’s events, we have partnered with other NGOs, private sector organizations and research organizations in order to talk directly to people at every level, from the former head of the UNFCCC, to those working at the grassroots.

Today the European Parliamentary delegation in Durban had the opportunity to hear directly from Fairtrade producers about the reality of climate change and what producers expect from the EU in these negotiations.  Carlos Vargas, a banana producer from Costa Rica representing producers from Latin America and Caribbean, and Chief Adam Tampuri, on behalf of Fairtrade producers in Africa, both spoke passionately about the impact that climate change was having on the ground. The Parliamentarians, from all over Europe, were clearly fascinated to hear these stories, about increasing pests, storms and shortage of water and were keen to hear what more they could do to get the kind of outcome from the climate talks that producers are hoping for.  Financing, the role of agriculture in the negotiations and the simple desire to see a deal done as quickly as possible were all discussed.

Fairtrade Africa has been leading the way here in Durban on behalf of the whole Fairtrade movement and we are proud of how we have been able to expose such a variety of audiences here to the views of Fairtrade producers and to the role that the Fairtrade system can play in addressing climate change.

Marcela is the Fairtrade Africa policy officer and has been in Durban with a number of Fairtrade producers from all over the world

Fairtrade needs to promote the idea that climate injustice is being perpetrated against a large part of the planet’s population.

The Fairtrade movement and system provides mechanisms and vehicles for producers to achieve a degree of social and climate justice, so it should be utilised.

Noel Oettle, Fairtrade Africa Board member, on what Fairtrade should be doing to influence negotiators at COP17

I think that the farmers’ concerns are being heard. We have been making enough noise and talking to the right people.

The question is whether developed countries will put enough money on the line to help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Dyborn Chibonga, CEO National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi, on whether climate change negotiators are paying attention to civil society

We are from an uneducated poor rural area so we did not know about the causes of climate change. Now that we know it has been caused by the developed world I find it difficult to understand why the important decisions that need to be made at COP17 have not yet materialised.

I believe that some major decisions to help small holder farmers should have been made by now by the industrialised countries that caused the climate to change. I think the Kyoto protocol should be committed to again here at COP. I know people are negotiating, but they are not making progress to my satisfaction.

Chief Adam Tanpuri, cashew nut producer with Gbankuliso Cashew Farmers Assoication, Ghana, on how he thinks COP17 negotiations have gone so far

The predictability of our seasons, in terms of when our rains and monsoon arrive, has gone completely. We are also seeing an increase in temperatures during our dry season which has led to forest fires. This in turn could drive elephants from our forests into the fields where they can cause widespread destruction.

Tommy Mathew, Fair Trade Alliance Kerala smallholder cooperative, India, on how climate change is affecting their farmers

COP17 delegates and members of civil society took time out from the Durban climate change negotiations on Saturday to attend a cocktail party arranged by Fairtrade and partner organisation the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

Guests included members of civil society groups agitating for climate justice, journalists and negotiators representing different nations at the United Nation’s sponsored climate change discussions.

After a week in which it appeared that little head way was made to secure a second climate change deal by international negotiators at the International Convention Centre in Durban, a light hearted evening appeared to be just what the approximate 150 guests were looking for.

Rob Cameron explained the purpose of the cocktail evening was to simply put a “Fairtrade stake in the ground” at the United Nations climate talks (COP17) by inviting people along to a fun evening amidst the seriousness of the negotiations.

“We want to bring people together who have an interest in Fairtrade and what is going on here in Durban. One of the things we do well is to get producers, consumers, non-government organisations and business into the same space. So in reality, this is what we are trying to do here: to build bridges between like-minded people so we can work together in a more fruitful manner in the future. With that in mind I am really delighted with the number of people who turned up” he concluded.   

Progress at the talks are slow, but it’s heartening that Fairtrade’s message about climate change impacts on producers is gaining support with a wide variety of actors, including some new and unanticipated allies.On Thursday Fairtrade International CEO Rob Cameron was invited to speak at “The Agri-Food Chain: Vulnerability and Adaptation”, a side event organized by the National Business Initiative (NBI) in South Africa. NBI is a group of leading national and multi-national companies who work together on sustainable growth and development in South Africa. NBI was interested in hearing from Rob concrete examples of how Fairtrade producers are being affected by climate change.As climate change begins to wreak havoc on producers’ crops, everyone is at risk. While governments’ drag their heels, many businesses are realizing that it’s time to take action to secure their supply chains and our food source.

Progress at the talks are slow, but it’s heartening that Fairtrade’s message about climate change impacts on producers is gaining support with a wide variety of actors, including some new and unanticipated allies.

On Thursday Fairtrade International CEO Rob Cameron was invited to speak at “The Agri-Food Chain: Vulnerability and Adaptation”, a side event organized by the National Business Initiative (NBI) in South Africa. NBI is a group of leading national and multi-national companies who work together on sustainable growth and development in South Africa. NBI was interested in hearing from Rob concrete examples of how Fairtrade producers are being affected by climate change.

As climate change begins to wreak havoc on producers’ crops, everyone is at risk. While governments’ drag their heels, many businesses are realizing that it’s time to take action to secure their supply chains and our food source.

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