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An article about Peruvian coffee farmers in Fairtrade certified co-operatives has appeared in the Financial Times edition of 9 September.

Below is a short statement by the Fairtrade Foundation, which has been sent to the Financial Times. The Fairtrade Foundation is formally requesting the evidence supplied to the journalist for this article, so that a fuller investigation of the issues involved can be undertaken.

Download our full briefing (PDF)

FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION RESPONSE TO FINANCIAL TIMES ARTICLE

The Fairtrade system takes very seriously the issues raised by Hal Weitzman (Financial Times, 9/10 September). Our core aim is to enable poor farmers to move incrementally towards sustainable development. This vision underpins the way Fairtrade works which is why the public can be confident in the integrity of the certification system behind the FAIRTRADE Mark.

All workers hired directly by farmers’ organisations must be paid legal minimum wages. Fairtrade inspects against this and treats non-compliance with great seriousness. However, on payment of temporary workers by individual small farmers, Fairtrade recognizes that farmers who sell only a small proportion of their crop on Fairtrade terms will often struggle to earn the minimum wage themselves. That’s why our standards state that they must share any benefits of Fairtrade and progressively improve working conditions. These farms were paying workers 25% above what they could get elsewhere, despite selling just 10-15% of their total crop on Fairtrade terms. It’s not enough. Rather than punish such farmers, which helps no-one, we work tirelessly to get more of the coffee industry to offer smallholders a fair and sustainable price for their crop. This focus on development is uniquely the core of Fairtrade certification.

Claims that non-certified coffee is being sold as Fairtrade are overstated. We are confident that Fairtrade certification is robust on this. Our trade audit system does detect anomalies where they occur, and seeks correction. As Mr Weitzman was informed, a trader inspection on this very issue is already underway in Peru. Producers have little incentive to pass off coffee as certified when they are yet to sell their own entire certified harvests to Fairtrade markets.

Coffee experts know that shade-grown coffee can be cultivated entirely in harmony with, and even assist, the preservation of rainforests. This year Fairtrade environmental standards were strengthened, with a transition period to enable producer groups to comply with new requirements. These prohibit coffee planting in designated conservation areas. For other rainforest areas, no new planting is allowed unless it can be shown that this can be achieved in harmony with preservation of the forest and only if no other arable land is available.

Tackling complex development issues requires a sophisticated response, and Fairtrade systems are constantly being strengthened to deliver this. We have yet to see the conventional, uncertified market offer a better alternative.

Harriet Lamb
Executive Director, Fairtrade Foundation
16 Baldwin’s Gardens
London EC1N 7RJ

For further information, contact the Fairtrade Foundation press office on 020 7440 7686/7695 or mobile 07770 957 451 or email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk

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

New research released today by the Fairtrade Foundation reveals that, despite growing support for Fairtrade in the UK, only 17% of UK workers say their companies are currently serving Fairtrade products at work. Almost two out of five workers (38%) say they think their company SHOULD make products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark available to staff at work.

The YouGov survey was commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation to coincide with today’s launch of the organisation’s major new Fairtrade at Work campaign calling on workplaces to switch to offering Fairtrade products such as tea, coffee, fruit juice, sugar and biscuits to employees in the staff canteen, in meetings or through corporate catering. The campaign has been welcomed by pioneers of Fairtrade like Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) – the parent of the Co-operative Bank and Co-operative Insurance – which, since they inaugurated the office switch to Fairtrade products in 1997, have been challenging other top companies to follow their example.

“Co-operative Financial Services is proud to be the UK's largest workplace consumer of Fairtrade products and encourages all other organisations to support Fairtrade; there really can't be a more meaningful but simple demonstration of how business can be a force for good through its everyday purchasing,” says Barry Clavin, Ethical Policies Manager at CFS.

The Fairtrade at Work campaign kickstarts today as BT announces a switch to Fairtrade coffee at BT Centre and several of their key sites across the country with employees sampling Fairtrade coffee. The rest of BT sites will follow on a roll out schedule which will mean 3.5 million cups of Fairtrade coffee being drunk annually on their premises. This move follows a growing number of companies and organisations – from Edinburgh Zoo to the Department for International Development – which have previously made the switch.

Fairtrade started out with individuals choosing Fairtrade in their shopping for home consumption, but people are increasingly wanting Fairtrade throughout the day – at home, socially and in the workplace.

The Fairtrade at Work campaign is building on the example of some central government departments, local councils, voluntary organisations and companies which have lead the way in using Fairtrade products. CFS pioneered the use of Fairtrade products and, with 10,000 employees and huge numbers of customers visiting its offices and bank branches, more that 4 million cups of Fairtrade beverages are now consumed on CFS premises annually. Since they first switched their vending machines to stocking Fairtrade coffee and tea, they have gradually changed over all their procurement so that now only Fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available to CFS employees and customers, through staff restaurants and vending machines.

Barry Clavin believes the YouGov results show what the Co-op already knows – that Fairtrade creates a feel-good factor among the staff and improves staff morale. “By demonstrating that we care about farmers in developing countries we reinforce the message that we care about our employees as well,” he says.

The YouGov survey asked respondents to put in order of importance a range of 10 initiatives that companies could do to improve their ethical and environmental sourcing and procurement habits. Whilst 45% put reducing carbon emissions at the top of their list, 38% made Fairtrade put Fairtrade closely behind, while among other results, 32% said their company should recycle or use recycled goods, and 19% said their employer should donate a percentage of company profits to charity.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “This campaign aims to see the availability of Fairtrade products in the workplace match that in the shops. Today over a third of our food and drink is consumed away from home and there is still enormous potential for more Fairtrade sales in that sector so more and more producers can benefit from Fairtrade. Any good company will want to respond to the mood of their employees and some top companies have set a model for many more to emulate. Switching to products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark – everywhere from canteen or vending machine to the flowers at reception – is a meaningful way to make a real difference to the lives of farmers and workers in developing countries.”

The YouGov poll shows:

• Women are more likely than men to say they would like their company to choose Fairtrade at work
• Workers aged between 30 and 50 were most eager to support Fairtrade
• People in Scotland are the most keen (66%) to say their company offers Fairtrade or should offer Fairtrade
• 82% of workplaces which offer Fairtrade provide Fairtrade coffee and 63% Fairtrade tea, whereas other products were used less often.
  

The Fairtrade Foundation has built a dedicated microsite www.fairtradeatwork.org.uk aimed at helping workplaces through the process of switching to Fairtrade. A cheeky viral video clip which plays on office humour has been created for viewers to pass onto their friends and colleagues. The Fairtrade message has traditionally been passed on by word of mouth and the viral video takes the traditional idea into a modern context. A fun coffee time Soduku game available from the site with Fairtrade product information will encourage staff to think while they drink their morning coffee. A leaflet targeted at companies called Make it your business to buy Fairtrade is also available to order from the microsite.

To mark the start of the campaign, high profile ‘switchers’ such as BT and financial services consultant KPMG will be holding events at their offices this week. BT will communicate its switch to Fairtrade coffee to 2,000 staff today at BT Centre in London and will roll out the programme to all of its offices during the week. KPMG will hold a wine tasting for staff to raise awareness of its ongoing support for Fairtrade and its commitment to the Fairtrade London Campaign. Brentford Football Club plan to hold a match using Fairtrade footballs over the coming weeks. Meanwhile, catering supplier Brakes is launching own brand Fairtrade instant coffee granules in packs of 750g to coincide with the launch of the campaign.

Fairtrade coffee farmer Gerardo Arias Camacho from Costa Rica will be touring the UK for the first week of the Fairtrade at Work campaign when he will give motivational presentations to employees at companies about how the Fairtrade system has made a difference to his fellow coffee farmers in the Llano Bonito Co-operative.

“The Fairtrade price allows us to survive as coffee farmers. It covers our costs of production, let’s us send our kids to school, buy clothes and keep a roof over our heads”, Gerardo Arias Camacho will say.

Currently 301 producer groups from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia are now benefiting from selling to the UK Fairtrade market. This is a 50% increase from 197 groups last year and is due to increased public demand for Fairtrade.

To find out more about the campaign see www.fairtradeatwork.org.uk Download the Fairtrade at Work catering directory at www.fairtrade.org.uk/suppliers_caterers.htm
For a full list of Fairtrade products see www.fairtrade.org.uk

Notes to Editors
Case studies: some companies who have chosen Fairtrade at work

• Co-operative Financial Services – In 1997 The Co-operative Bank switched its vending machines to Fairtrade coffee (Cafédirect) and in 2001 to Fairtrade tea. In 2002 its sister organisation Co-operative Insurance also switched to Fairtrade coffee and tea in its vending machines, and two years later added Fairtrade drinking chocolate to the mix. Today Fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate are the only hot beverages available to CFS employees and customers, through staff restaurants and vending machines. In addition, chocolate bars, including Green&Blacks Maya Gold, snack bars, apple and orange juices as well as cookies are on sale in all CFS staff restaurants. A Costa Coffee bar was also opened in 2004 at the CIS head office in Manchester, serving Fairtrade tea, coffee and orange juice. More than 4 million cups of Fairtrade beverages are consumed annually on CFS’s premises, with staff accounting for £500,000 worth of Fairtrade goods provided through staff restaurants and vending machines.
• BT – From today has switched all coffee to Fairtrade and will roll out the commitment to BT’s key sites right across the country. This will result in 3.5 million more cups of Fairtrade coffee being consumed a year.
• KPMG – In 2004 switched all catering outlets including meeting rooms, staff restaurant and fine dining suites to Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar. Also, the wine list in the fine dining suites is exclusively Fairtrade. A range of Fairtrade products, including apple juices, chocolate bars, healthy snacks and biscuits are available as options across all staff restaurants of which there is one at each site. KPMG act as business representative on the steering group of the Fairtrade London campaign.
• Arup – Currently all tea, coffee, sugar and biscuits served in Arup’s offices in London, Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol and Solihull are Fairtrade. This means that around 3,000 employees drink Fairtrade tea and coffee on a daily basis, as well as clients and other visitors to Arup’s offices. The London office alone, with around 1,600 employees, currently consumes around 2 million cups of Fairtrade tea and coffee a year. In the Leeds office, which has 250 employees, an estimated 750 Fairtrade hot beverages are consumed daily. Some offices offer Fairtrade nuts, while some are now looking at serving Fairtrade decaf coffee.
• Defra - Currently, all coffee, tea and hot chocolate served in Defra’s 11 staff restaurants in London, York, Guildford and Reading are Fairtrade. All hospitality beverages (teas, coffees and hot chocolate) served within Defra premises are also Fairtrade. Other Fairtrade products available as options in the staff restaurants include fruit juices, chocolate and cereal bars, and bananas. The size of the commitment is significant. Annual sales to December 2005 through Defra’s catering facilities totalled £1.6m. Fairtrade produce accounted for £459,000 or 29% of the total, with the bulk coming from hot beverages.
• DfID - All refreshments provided - tea, coffee, brown and white sugar sticks, soft drinks, fruit (oranges and bananas), and confectionary – are Fairtrade. Currently 95% of the products sold in their Cafe Court are Fairtrade and include Traidcraft snacks, Divine chocolate bars and Rootz chocolate brownies. The staff canteen also sells some Fairtrade products, including five different types of Fairtrade orange juices, such as Calypso and Fruit Passion, and Teadirect tea bags.
• Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) - Have been selling Fairtrade tea and coffee in all of its 100 in-house catering units since 2004. In the staff restaurants of MPS’s 30-storey Empress State Building in Earl’s Court, Cafédirect and Teadirect Fairtrade brands are sold alongside non-Fairtrade options. Fairtrade products in MPS canteens include Doves Farm flapjacks, Traidcraft Geobars and Divine chocolate bars. All are offered at commercial rates alongside non-Fairtrade products.
• Houses of Parliament - Fresh coffee is served daily in all catering facilities within the House of Commons, which is exclusively Fairtrade. Sugar sticks and tea are also available as Fairtrade, albeit on a non-exclusive basis alongside ‘counter line’ products - chocolate bars, biscuits and, depending on availability, fruit such as bananas.
• London Borough of Camden - Fairtrade tea and coffee have been served at all internal meetings within the Town Hall complex since January 2004. They are also now optional on menus in staff restaurants and civic catering. In addition, the council is currently amending its original Fairtrade resolution to expand the range of Fairtrade products for meetings and civic catering to include sugar, bananas and wine. Fruit juices and biscuits may also be added as options. Furthermore, there is a growing number of internal tea clubs within the council that are using Fairtrade tea and coffee – ordered at reduced rates through the council’s central supplies list under its “stationery contract”.
• Business in the Community – Serves Fairtrade tea and coffee, the only food products which BITC provides for staff.
• Edinburgh Zoo – Fairtrade tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar.
• The Training and Development Agency for Schools – Serves Fairtrade tea, hot chocolate, coffee, decaffeinated coffee, sugar, fruit, fruit juices, chocolate bars.
• Salvation Army – Serves Fairtrade tea, coffee, biscuits, chocolate, sugar, cereal bars, orange juice.
• Virgin Trains - Fairtrade tea, coffee (instant and bean to cup), Earl Grey tea, hot chocolate and sugar.
• The Wise Group - Vending facilities offering Fairtrade hot drinks including fresh coffee, instant coffee, leaf tea, hot chocolate etc. Looking at the possibility of vending Fairtrade snacks.
  

1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,291 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 19 – 21 September 2006. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
2. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. This independent consumer label appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than five million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards.
3. The full range of Fairtrade products now includes coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, apples, pears, grapes, plums, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, lychees, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, fruit juices, quinoa, peppers, green beans, coconut, dried fruit, rooibos tea, green tea, cakes and biscuits, honey, muesli, cereal bars, jams, chutney and sauces, herbs and spices, nuts and nut oil, wine, beer, rum, flowers, sports balls, rice, yoghurt, babyfood, sugar body scrub, cotton wool and cotton products.
   

For further information or to arrange an interview with Luis Ruiz Diaz, phone 020 7440 7686/7695 or 07770 957 451 or email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk.

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