Tate & Lyle's sweet switch
In one of the boldest moves ever to Fairtrade, Tate & Lyle announced their intention to convert 100% of their retail sugar to Fairtrade. Around 70,000 tonnes of certified sugar from Belize is expected to be involved in the first phase of the programme.
This increases tenfold the total volumes of Fairtrade sugar sold in the UK in 2007. Starting in February 2008, the full conversion of Tate & Lyle’s retail range is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.
The move comes at a critical time for the farmers and the whole Belizean sugar industry, which faces challenges from changes to the EU Sugar Regime, and from Hurricane Dean, which devastated farms in the region in 2007. 6,000 small-scale growers in the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers’ Association will benefit and the switch will generate Fairtrade premiums of US$60 per tonne. Giovanni Loria, Chairman of Corozal (District) Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, said: ‘Fairtrade is like a door to a great opportunity within our community. Investments in education will generate more opportunity and Fairtrade can help us build schools, health centres, clinics and much more. For us, Fairtrade is a new beginning.’
Fairground fun
Fairtrade Fortnight kicked off in style with a Fairtrade Fairground on London’s South Bank. For licensees it was an opportunity to promote their Fairtrade brands and talk directly to the public about their products. Producer representatives including Gerardo Arias Camacho from Costa Rica, and Makandianfing Keita from Mali, also gave presentations about the impact of Fairtrade and the public were treated to free samples of Fairtrade coffee and fruit.
The event also launched the Choose Fairtrade Bus, which went on to tour around the UK both as a massive Fairtrade billboard and a focus for local events. With an estimated 13,000 events taking place, there was something for everyone, including two world record attempts – Ashbourne, a Fairtrade Town, set a record for the greatest number of people eating bananas at the same time, while coffee chain AMT held the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning in Liverpool Street station in London. They smashed the previous record of 2,620, as 4,585 commuters enjoyed a complimentary Fairtrade coffee.
Fairtrade was also featured in mainstream broadcast coverage including BBC Breakfast, GMTV, The Observer and You Magazine.
DFID invests in Fairtrade - £1.2m for ambitious new strategy
The new strategic direction of the Fairtrade Foundation is outlined in the document Tipping the Balance.
Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, says: ‘The heart of the strategy is to double to the market for Fairtrade products to £1 billion by 2010 and to £2 billion by 2012. Increasing numbers of people in the UK buy Fairtrade goods as a personal practical action to help tackle poverty in the developing world.
But there is an urgent need to speed up the pace of change. Two billion people work incredibly hard but are still living on less than $2 a day. Everyone – government, business and the public – must come together to deal with this crisis.’ The Foundation is determined to open up more opportunities for more growers worldwide, particularly in places like Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world.
Farmers’ networks are keen for the Fairtrade model to be significantly expanded in their countries, a challenge the Foundation and its international partners are determined to rise to. The UK government grant will be a launch pad for that process, focusing on creating opportunities for disadvantaged producers from the world’s poorest countries.
©Summer 2008 Fair Comment