Cotton On To Fairtrade

The first ever cotton certified by the Fairtrade Foundation will be launched at a press launch themed ‘Cotton on to Fairtrade’ held at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London, on Thursday 17th November. This is the first time in the UK that the FAIRTRADE Mark, the independent consumer label licensed by the Fairtrade Foundation, will appear on goods made from cotton. The aim is to extend the benefits of Fairtrade to a new product category and improve the lives of cotton farmers.

“I will finally be able to support my family thanks to the Fairtrade price we will get for our cotton,” says Laljibhai Narranbhai, a cotton farmer from Agrocel Pure & Fair Cotton Growers’ Association in India. ”I have two sons and one daughter and for the first time I can think about sending my children to school without having to take out a loan. I did not go to school myself, but I want my children to get a good education and this will now happen because my income will increase through Fairtrade.”

Laljibhai’s message to UK consumers will be read by Hasmukh Patel, General Manager of Agrocel Industries, who will describe how farmers in India have experienced real hardship because cotton prices have fallen to all-time lows in recent years. As many as 100 million rural households globally are involved in cotton production and millions of small scale cotton farmers are at the mercy of falling and volatile world market prices and face real difficulties. Cotton is one of the most important fibre crops in the global textile industry.

The launch event will be hosted by George Alagiah, Fairtrade Foundation patron, and other speakers include Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development, Harriet Lamb, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, and Julia Tilford, Trade Campaign Manager from Oxfam. The initiative is supported by presenter and journalist Sankha Guha of BBC1’s Holiday programme and musician Youssou N'Dour.

The press briefing will focus on the urgent need for Fairtrade cotton in the context of low world cotton prices, depressed in part by US and EU subsidies. Fairtrade will benefit the cotton growers in some of the developing countries where farmers used to be able to make a decent living from cotton production but now struggle to provide for their families because cotton farming is so poorly remunerated.

“For too long cotton farmers have been invisible at the end of long supply chains and at the sharp end of injustice in international trade, and that has to change,” Harriet Lamb, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation will say at the launch. “Today we are setting a whole new pattern for international trade – one that puts cotton farmers first not last. We are determined that this will become the trend in the cotton industry and will continue to work towards meeting the needs of cotton farmers.”
The newly certified Fairtrade cotton will come initially from small farmers in India and Peru, Mali and Senegal. The farmers will receive the guaranteed Fairtrade minimum price plus a premium to use in social or business development projects. In India, villagers have decided the additional money from the Fairtrade premium will be spent on projects such as providing clean water so village children won’t have long distances to collect drinking water.

“We are also meeting consumer demand,” Harriet Lamb will say. “The public is cottoning on to Fairtrade and now we can all look for the FAIRTRADE Mark when shopping for clothes, certain that the farmers are being paid a fair price.”

Cotton products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark will shortly be available from 10 companies who trade via a range of independent shops, websites and catalogues throughout the UK. Most of the companies involved in this initial launch have been among the pioneers in the fairtrade movement trading ethically for many years, but the cotton is now independently certified against international Fairtrade standards and will be the first to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark. The full list of businesses launching Fairtrade cotton will be announced at the launch event. Items with the Mark include women’s and men’s T-shirts, shirts, trousers, dresses, children’s and babywear, underwear and cotton wool.

Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP will say “This is another success for the Fairtrade Foundation and will give us more Fairtrade certified products to choose from. The government is committed to supporting the FAIRTRADE Mark because it helps shoppers identify products that guarantee producers in developing countries a fair price. By buying these items people here will be making a huge difference to the lives of poor farmers thousands of miles away.”

The Fairtrade Foundation anticipates that the lead taken by these pioneering companies on Fairtrade certified cotton will act as a wake-up call to more mainstream high street companies and retailers.

Goods using Fairtrade certified cotton from producer groups from Cameroon, Mali and Senegal have already been successfully launched in France, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Photographs, product samples and profiles of producers available on request.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Harriet Lamb, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation or Diana Gayle, Product Manager for cotton at the Fairtrade Foundation, please phone 020 7440 7695/7686 or mobile 07770 957451 or e-mail martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk / eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk.

Notes to Editors
• DfID funds the Fairtrade Foundation’s work on new product development which has included work to bring Fairtrade certified cotton to the UK market.

• The launch event for Fairtrade certified cotton has been made possible thanks to generous contributions from members of The Funding Network.

• Sankha Guha said: “We rely on communities far away to produce the things we take for granted. We should also take it for granted that the people making our lives more comfortable are treated fairly. Buy Fairtrade cotton and feel good about what you wear.”

• Youssou N'Dour said: "The tragedy is that 10 million cotton farmers in West Africa have been pushed deeper into poverty because of unfair trade rules. The US spends $4 billion a year subsidising its farmers who then dump cheap cotton on world markets, destroying the lives of poor farmers who depend on cotton for survival. Buying Fairtrade cotton offers a lifeline to individuals and by changing the global rules of trade we can help lift millions out of poverty. In just a few weeks the World Trade Organisation meets in Hong Kong and I will be watching closely to see that they deliver on long held promises to make the trade in agricultural produce fair for poor farmers."

• One in two adults recognize the FAIRTRADE Mark, according to a 2005 MORI poll. Of those buying Fairtrade products, four out of five people say that the FAIRTRADE Mark’s independent guarantee of a fair deal for farmers in developing countries is important to them.

• The range of Fairtrade products now includes: coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, apples, pears, grapes, plums, lemons, oranges, satsumas, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, fruit juices, rooibos tea, green tea, cakes and biscuits, honey, muesli, cereal bars, jams and marmalade, chutney and sauces, nuts and nut oil, wine, roses, and sports balls, rice and now cotton.

• For full listings of individual companies and product information see www.fairtrade.org.uk/products_cotton_buy.htm

Case studies – cotton farmers in India talk about their lives and their hopes for the future

Babubhai Parmar, cotton farmer with Agrocel Pure & Fair Cotton Growers’ Association, Gujarat, India

Mr Babubhai is married and supports four members of his family. Levels of water in his area are dropping, so it is essential that effective water systems are put into place. The Fairtrade price will mean that the local community will be able to build rainwater harvesting systems. “There are many benefits to farming under the Fairtrade system. We are getting a good price and premium for our crops as well as whatever guidance we need from Agrocel advisors on soil and water analysis. They also help us to farm with natural fertilisers. With Agrocel’s advice we can adjust the amount of fertiliser needed to get a better quality crop and a higher yield.”

Punjiben, cotton farmer, Gujarat, India
Punjiben has six children – three sons and three daughters. She attends committee meetings along with the other women in her village. She is impressed with how women’s opinions are valued in the Fairtrade system: “Our voices are equally important in the committee. Our voices are strong in the decision making process.” She plans in the future to develop her farm to improve the crop yield. She would also like to have a flour mill in the village so village women can grind millet and wheat. At present the women have to walk 3 km to the nearest mill.

The Fairtrade Foundation,
Room 204, 16 Baldwin’s Gardens,
London EC1N 7RJ.

Tel: 020 7405 5942
Fax: 020 7405 5943
Web: www.fairtrade.org.uk