“Don’t Buy My Harvest Cheap And Then Give Me Charity” - Ruth Bergan

On 5 th March 2004 Leeds became one of 41 cities to be given the title ‘Fair Trade City’; Leeds is now the largest FT city in the UK, thanks mainly to the work of ‘Trade Injustice and Debt Action Leeds’ (TIDAL) and the ‘Trade For Change’ Cooperative. Being a FT city means that an increasing number of businesses in the Leeds area stock FT products; schools have been working towards FT status and the council has FT products at meetings. At a ‘Fair Trade Fiesta’ held at Leeds Civic Hall, attended by more than 150 people, the deputy Lord Mayor referred to Fair Trade Fortnight as a ‘celebration of diversity’, something she felt was important for a city with communities from such diverse backgrounds.

TIDAL have been a driving force in the campaign to get FT status for Leeds . In response to Jubilee 2000, a steering group was formed which led to the Trade Justice Campaign, a coalition of different aid agencies, unions and charities who were working towards justice in trade rules. TIDAL became the umbrella under which the different approaches of the organisations could be brought together to coordinate the Leeds response to trade injustice. This has led to a campaign of education and awareness-raising across Leeds; the most recent being awareness-raising of the ‘Tobin tax’: over 80% of the currencies' market is speculative, when currency traders turn on the economy of a developing country they can do enormous damage, throwing millions of people into poverty; a tax on speculation would help reduce this damage. Future plans for TIDAL include a campaign for workers’ rights and the lobbying of MPs, in particular Hilary Benn, a Leeds MP and Secretary of State for International Development.

To attain Fairtrade status from the Fairtrade Foundation, a city must achieve the following five goals:

The local council must pass a resolution supporting the initiative, agreeing to use Fairtrade products in offices and identify a councillor to work in partnership with the local Fairtrade steering group. A sufficient number (depending on population) of local shops and cafes must provide at least two Fairtrade products. The above rule is applied to workplaces and community organisations. The campaign needs to be able to demonstrate popular support. A steering group must be set up to ensure continued commitment to the initiative. Cyclists from the 10 new FT cities set off on a ‘Spokes of the Wheel’ cycle ride, converging on Garstang in Lancashire – the world’s first Fairtrade Town - on 12th March.

One of the highlights of the Fiesta was hearing from Filipe Miza Castro, a representative of the ‘Manos Campesinas’ Co-operative and a Guatemalan coffee producer, who is in the UK visiting schools, local governments and other groups to talk about his experience as a FT farmer. Ninety per cent of the good coffee-growing land in Guatemala is owned by a minority of big landowners who pay poor wages to farm workers. Filipe owns his own land, but could not have afforded to keep it if he had not been approached by the Fair Trade Foundation; current non-FT prices for coffee are as low as US$6 for 50kg of coffee, Fair Trade pays US$18, five of which are given to a community fund to help keep children at school and promote the development of the community.

Joanna Brown, of TIDAL, emphasised the need to keep working on Fair Trade; she said, “until all trade is fair, our work isn’t done.” New additions to the Fair Trade market include footballs from Pakistan and roses from Kenya – the UK imports fifteen per cent of all Kenyan roses, amounting to trade of £25million per year. Joanna urged everyone to “remember the producers, to keep the energy and drive [in the campaign]”. John Battle MP said he believed that “trade is the key to international development” and compared the struggle against EU-subsidies, faced by farmers from developing countries, with trying to go up a downwards-moving escalator. He went on to praise the important contribution that teachers in the Leeds area had made to raising awareness of FT issues in the classroom.

Nine schools in Leeds have achieved FT status; all have firmly rooted teaching about FT issues into the curriculum, taking action to support FT and raise parents’ awareness about the issues. At the ‘Fair Trade Fiesta’ schools gave presentations on the background to Fair Trade, highlighting that over-production of coffee has now pushed prices to an all-time low. Parklands Girls High School underlined the important role that women have played in the campaign for Fair Trade; the pupils felt that Fair Trade was an issue of equality of opportunity. Their Geography lessons have centred on the lives of Fair Trade farmers and pupils have produced a FT magazine around this issue. Their presentation finished with a quote from one of their teachers: “Don’t buy my harvest cheap and then give me charity”, a reference to the incongruity of paying low wages to farmers and then offering their countries aid, for which the country then finds itself in debt.

Schools have been taking part in a wide range of activities from Fair Trade days to producing products and working out what would be a fair price for them; they have been finding out what it is like to have to carry buckets of water for long distances, having FT tastings and FT products are now available in a number of school vending machines. Leeds schools are some of the first schools in the UK to gain FT status, an initiative which is receiving DfID funding, and a handbook has been developed as a product of their work, which has been given to the Fairtrade Foundation and will be passed on to other schools in the UK to encourage them to aim for FT status. Hannah Dalrymple, who has been working on the FT schools scheme, said, “these children are an inspiration to us all”. Leeds schools are not alone in working towards FT; university students sent around 1,000 postcards to Leeds University calling for them to have a FT steering group; FT products are now available in all Student Union shops.

The following cities have Fair Trade status: Aberdeen, Aberfeldy, Ammanford, Bolton, Bradford-on-Avon, Bridgnorth, Cambridge, Cherry Burton, Chester, Criccieth (Wales), Croydon, Derby, Dundee, Frome, Garstang, Glastonbury, Haworth, Hebden Bridge, Kendal, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Ludlow, Malvern, Morpeth, Nailsworth, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Paisley, Pendle, Portsmouth, Southampton, Stockport, Strathaven, Stroud, Wells, Wrexham, York.

I spoke to Sarah Hill, Membership Manager of the Leeds Co-op, who attended the FT Fiesta to promote the Co-op’s range of FT products. The Co-op are also sponsors of TIDAL’s publicity for the Fiesta and other events. Sarah believes that the Co-op has taken up the FT challenge of mainstreaming FT products; they have been running a FT campaign across Leeds , including adverts on local radio, a ninety-six-sheet billboard, a poster campaign and tastings and promotions in stores; they cut prices of FT products by twenty per cent during FT Fortnight. All Leeds Co-op stores now have at least some FT products; in the late 1990’s the UK-wide Co-op income for FT products was around £100,000, in 2003 this figure had risen to £15m. Sarah explained that FT fitted in with the Co-op’s founding principles of solidarity, equity and honesty in trade; for the Co-op it was a natural step to develop FT products, especially as FT producers tend to be co-operatives; the Co-op were the first supermarket to sell FT bananas.

On a per capita basis, the UK consumes more confectionery than any other country. Of this, chocolate accounts for 70%. Expenditure on chocolate alone was £3.8 billion in 1999 – 7% of total consumer spending on all food.

The Fair Trade Fiesta and the Fair Trade Cities initiative are both positive steps towards fairer trade; hearing accounts of the ongoing work towards FT and seeing the dedication of all at the fiesta was truly inspiring. However, in his speech, John Battle remarked that shops and stores in Leeds had only “put their toes in the water”, underlining that they could go much further in their support of FT; he also added that Leeds was only a FT city because of the efforts of the people involved in the campaign; consumer choice may be central to allowing millions of food producers to have a better quality of life. The real challenge faced by those wishing to promote FT is to achieve a radical change in the priorities of the consumer, Fair Trade over bargain hunting, and to ensure they have support from the political and commercial establishments.

Over 24 million people signed the Jubilee 2000 petition - the largest ever - calling for the cancellation of $375 billion of unpayable debts owed by the world’s poorest countries. Despite grandiose political rhetoric, only $36.3 billion - less than 10% - had actually been cancelled by May 2003.

Thanks to: various members of TIDAL and Sarah Hill, from the Co-op, for their contributions.

Find out more:

www.leedstidal.org

www.wdm.org.uk

www.waronwant.org/tobintax

www.leeds.coop

www.fairtrade.org.uk

www.kuapakokoo.com

Are you a good global citizen? How well do you fare on TIDAL’s Fair Trade quiz?

Why not write to your MP to encourage them to work for FT status for your town/city/area?

Where you can find Fair Trade Produce:

Products that have been fairly traded can be identified from the Fairtrade Foundation’s logo displayed on the packaging.

• www.fairtrade.org.uk – info on Fairtrade companies.
• www.traidcraft.co.uk - the UK ’s leading fair trade organisation, Traidcraft works with more than 100 producer groups in over 30 countries around the world.
• www.onevillage.org 'For community cooperation internationally.' They sell: Baskets, Cushions, Hammocks, Lampshades, Duvet Covers, Rugs, Home accessories, Woodenware, Cheaper phone calls, Sandals, Incense, Cards and Gift wrap, Festive decorations.
• www.organicdelivery.co.uk Based in London , delivering food boxes. They sell: Fruit and veg, Organic boxes, Dairy and Eggs, Oil and Vinegar, Tea and Coffee, Pasta and Pulses, Tins and Jars, Spreads, Rice and Flour, Cereal, Snacks, Bread, Beer and Wine
• www.ootw.co.uk - ‘Out of this World’: ethically sourced goods. They sell: Bodycare (shampoos, soaps, hand-creams etc.), Crafts & Gifts, Paper & Cards, Vitamins & Supplements, Cleaning (Ecover etc.) Fresh foods: Chilled & Frozen, Deli, Fruit & Veg (organic only), Meat, fish, chickens, (organic only), Bakery
• www.beantreeorganics.com Beantree Organics are online mail order specialists in fine luxury delicatessen and health store.
• www.greenandblacks.com Green Black's make award winning quality organic chocolate combining the highest environmental and ethical standards.
• www.fruit-passion.com
• www.dubble.co.uk – cocoa and chocolate
• www.divinechocolate.com – more chocolate!
• www.percol.co.uk – coffee
• www.cafedirect.co.uk – tea, coffee, chocolate

Supermarkets stocking Fair Trade Goods:

• Asda
• Budgens
• Booths
• Co-op
• Morrisons
• Sainsbury’s
• Safeway
• Spar
• Tesco
• Waitrose

FAIRTRADE QUIZ:

One question for each day of Fairtrade fortnight.

1) How many cups of coffee are drunk in the UK every year?

• 25 billion
• 31 billion
• 42 billion

2) Around how many bananas are eaten in the UK each week?

• 100 million
• 120 million
• 140 million

3)Which three products were the first to carry the Fairtrade mark?

4) When were the first Fairtrade bananas launched in the UK ?

• 1998
• 2000
• 2002

5) The average coffee shop charges £1.75 for a cappuccino. How much of this is the grower likely to receive?

• 5 pence
• 7.5 pence
• 15 pence

6) How many products now carry the Fairtrade Mark?

• 130
• 150
• 170

7) In what year did the Co-op switch all its own label chocolate bars to Fairtrade?

• 1997
• 1999
• 2002

8) What percentage of the British public now recognise the Fairtrade Mark?

• 17%
• 21%
• 26%

9) How many countries have Fairtrade labelling initiatives?

• 9
• 17
• 24

10) Switzerland has the largest Fairtrade market, where does the UK rank?

• 2 nd
• 5 th
• 9 th

11) How much is spent in Fairtrade products in the UK each second?

• 84p
• £1.12
• £1.46

12) Between 2000 and 2002 by how much did Fairtrade sales increase?

• 77%
• 84%
• 90%

13) Where does Cafedirect rank in UK coffee sales?

• 6 th
• 11 th
• 14th

14) How many producers benefit from Fairtrade?

• 1.7million
• 2.6million
• 4.5million

Sources: The Fairtrade Foundation: Highlights of 2002; The Fairtrade Foundation: Fairtrade Bananas – Looking behind the price tag; The Fairtrade Foundation: spilling the beans on the coffee trade; The Fairtrade Foundation website: www.fairtrade.org.uk

FAIRTRADE RECEIPES

Chocolate Orange Squares

(* - fair trade products)

175g soft marg.

175g caster sugar*

2 large eggs

50g ground almonds*

25g cocoa, sieved*

200g plain flour

half level tsp bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in quarter pint milk

grated rind of one large orange

For orange butter topping:

75g soft margarine

225g icing sugar*, SIEVED

3tbsp orange juice

Heat oven to 325’F, 160’C, gas 3. Grease a large tin (12x9”) and line with greaseproof paper.

Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes, until mixture is well blended. Turn into the tin, smooth the top and bake in the oven for about 1hr15mins to 1hr30mins, until the cake has shrunk from the sides of the tin and springs back when pressed with your finger.

Leave to cool in tin then turn out and remove paper.

For the orange butter cream: put all ingredients in a bowl and beat well until smooth and blended. Spread the cream over the top of the cake and leave to set.

Tiffin

450g crushed digestive biscuits

225g margarine, melted

4 heaped tbsp drinking chocolate*

4 level tbsp golden syrup

225g raisins*

275g plain chocolate*, for topping

Melt margarine in a large pan with the raisins. Stir in syrup and drinking chocolate then add biscuits and mix thoroughly. Press into a large (12x9”) greased tin and leave to set. When set, cover with the melted chocolate.

Oat and Raisin Cookies

200g oats

100g margarine

175g light brown (or raw cane) sugar*

1 egg

50g wholemeal flour

half tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g raisins*

Heat oven to 350’F, 180’C, gas 4.

Melt margarine in a saucepan, stir in sugar and egg. Tip in oats, flour, bicarbonate of soda and raisins, mix until well combined. Take a dessertspoon-full and roll into balls, flatten slightly onto a greased baking sheet.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before moving to wire rack.

Peanut Squares

50g butter or hard marg

25g raw cane sugar*

4 level tbsp golden syrup

4 level tbsp peanut butter

150g broken biscuits, crushed

Put butter in small saucepan with sugar and syrup and bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Add crushed biscuits and mix well. Press mixture into a lightly greased 7” square tin and leave in a cool place until firm.

Recipes courtesy of Pam Roe, former secretary of ‘Trade for Change’.