I'm excited about Fairtrade Fortnight (Monday, 27 February to Sunday, 12 March)! For more than 29 years, we've championed the Fairtrade movement, driven by our passionate members, by supporting trade justice through better prices, working conditions and terms of trade. The last few years have hammered home the necessity for our Fairtrade commitments and Climate Justice campaign.
Throughout Fairtrade Fortnight, we're asking colleagues to learn about the considerable difference Fairtrade makes in protecting the future of food, our planet and communities around the globe. But importantly, we're challenging you to make a switch. Choose Fairtrade because what you put in your basket can make positive changes to lives around the world.
Check out this handy colleague guide with a social swap challenge on page 3. Please join the challenge in choosing Fairtrade.
My visit to Kenya and Malawi
In October, I was lucky enough to travel and visit Fairtrade producer communities in Kenya and Malawi after the disruption from Covid. It's important to meet with Fairtrade producers and their communities to hear first-hand the impact our Fairtrade commitments have on their daily lives.
I visited Mutira Coffee Farmers Association in Kenya, who supply Co-op's single origin Kenyan coffee, with whom we have supported for many years through programmes in collaboration with Fairtrade Africa (FTA) Producer Network. During the visit, I met with Mutira's management, board and some of their small-scale farmers who've been impacted.
Coffee is one of the world's most popular beverages (many of us can't imagine a day without one!), yet few people will know that 25 million smallholders produce 80% of coffee, and 125 million people worldwide depend on coffee for their livelihoods. Yet, coffee farming has many challenges, from market price volatility, disease, unfair trade and, increasingly, the realities of climate change.
Co-op's Fairtrade Coffee journey:
- In 1992, we were the first to start selling ethically-traded Cafedirect coffee, one of the world's first Fairtrade products.
- In 2003, coffee prices were at a 30-year low, and farmers were struggling to afford to grow coffee. That's when we decided to switch our entire own brand range to Fairtrade – a first for any retailer.
- In 2018, we made a commitment that whenever Co-op uses coffee as an ingredient, Fairtrade farmers will benefit.
I've heard directly from Fairtrade farmers and workers about the meaningful difference Fairtrade makes to their communities, so we're proud to support Fairtrade and the difference a fairer price, the Fairtrade Premium, and empowerment make for the lives of farmers and workers across the world.
Sadly, the world is changing in ways that are having a real impact on our food system – impacting our planet and the people who produce our food. The climate crisis continues to have a devastating effect on our communities in the UK and across the globe, with unpredictable weather patterns impacting food supply and worker and farmer livelihoods. For coffee, experts predict that up to half the land currently used to grow coffee will become unusable by 2050.
That's why at Co-op, we invest in programmes over and above our sourcing of Fairtrade to support improved livelihoods and climate change resilience of Fairtrade communities. On my visit, I saw the impact of that at Mutira. Co-op funding and support from Fairtrade Africa helps them to reach their more than 6000 smallholder farmers, so they can build a seedling nursery that distributes free coffee seedlings of a more climate-resilient variety to their farmers, income diversification project, build a model training farm, develop their own-brand coffee and much more.
"We say that knowledge is power. We and the farmers are so grateful"
Martin Kinyua, Assistant Manager at Mutira Coffee Famers Association.
Mutira is also participating in our current programme. In 2021, we partnered with Fairtrade Africa. We were the first UK retailer to invest directly into the Producer Network's climate strategy, founding the Fairtrade Alliance for Climate Smart Supply Chains in Africa (FACSCA). FACSCA is working with 12 at-risk producer organisations in Co-op's tea, coffee, and flower supply chains in Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda, to adapt and mitigate the very worst effects of climate change.
Over 3 years, this partnership aims to reach over 16,000 smallholder farmers and workers, directly impacting over 67,000 beneficiaries.
At the end of year one:
- Over 1,400 farmers have learned about the causes of climate change and how to reduce their environmental impact.
- Farmers and workers have been trained on and started adopting sustainable agriculture land management practices to boost productivity whilst reducing water and carbon footprints.
- Farmers and workers have been trained on environmentally friendly income-generating activities and enterprises to diversify their incomes and protect themselves against climate shocks, e.g. establishing kitchen gardens.
- Next year, they will receive seed-funding to grow these initiatives further.
FACSCA has demonstrated how much can be achieved if the agricultural communities closest to the climate challenge have access to resources and training and can meaningfully input mitigation and adaptation activities into the design.
"We really feel we have been supported."
Martin Kinyua
Fairtrade and Co-op now hope to grow the alliance and secure further funding, so more farmers are equipped to face our climate reality. So, my call to action this Fairtrade Fortnight is to protect the Future of our Food and #chooseFairtrade!
How you can take part in Fairtrade Fortnight
Please choose Fairtrade:
The easiest way to get involved is by choosing Fairtrade when you shop. Look out for the FAIRTRADE Mark on products. I'd love for you to join me in making a switch to a Fairtrade product during Fairtrade fortnight.
At Co-op, it's easy to make the switch to Fairtrade. 100% of our own-brand tea, coffee, bananas, cocoa, bagged sugar and African roses are Fairtrade. We source all the cocoa used as an ingredient in our own-brand Co-op products on Fairtrade terms, and where bananas, tea and coffee are used as an ingredient, we also make sure Fairtrade producers benefit. And we're also the world's largest seller of Fairtrade wine!
Please spread the word:
Share, Share and share! Whether it's your friends, colleagues or community, you can play a part in championing Fairtrade by sharing the stories of producers.
Spread the word on social media. To support you, we've added some posts on the Social Hub that you can easily share on your social channels.
We've updated our Fairtrade campaigning tools with all the tools you need to champion Fairtrade. You can read and watch our producer stories about how Fairtrade has supported them. Don't forget to share your swaps and these producer stories on social media using the hashtags:
#FairtradeFortnight
#ChooseFairtrade
#ItsWhatWeDo
Emily Pearce
Senior Sustainable Sourcing & International Development Manager
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