(Written for Europe Direct Leeds)
Fairtrade is a movement built upon principles of international co-operation and solidarity. It grew within the UK as a grassroots movement- fought for by those who believed the inequity in the trade system should exist no longer. It was soon realised that to help those in developing countries we needed not simply to provide aid, but to revolutionise the system of trade. Only with fair trade would a lasting positive impact be made.
That was the 1960’s as part of the ‘Trade not Aid’ movement. What about now?
If anything, trade has become more international as the decades have passed. With advances in technology the world is on our doorstep. No longer can we exist in ‘splendid isolation’- what happens in other countries can affect us; and our actions can impact upon others.
Within Europe there has been great change, supported by political will. In 1994 the European Parliament adopted the “Resolution on promoting fairness and solidarity in North South trade” realising the problem – and acknowledging solidarity and fair trade as part of the solution.
It is this pan-European approach -one of international co-operation- that brings me to report on where the Fairtrade movement is now.
Earlier in May Lille, twinned with Leeds, played host to a large international Fairtrade conference “forum national du commerce equitable”. I was asked to speak at the conference on behalf of Fairtrade Leeds. There I not only joined speakers from across France, but also from places such as Morocco and Palestine. I shared our experiences from Leeds: talking about how we became a Fairtrade City; the nature of the movement in the UK; and about international co-operation.
As well as hearing first hand from those who are perhaps one of the newest Fairtrade producers-makers of Palestinian olive oil—I also got chance to discuss the similarities and differences between the Fairtrade movement in the UK and France.
In the UK the Fairtrade movement is just that, a movement. It came about after years of grassroots activism and organisation. You only have to look at Fairtrade Towns, where unprompted by others Garstang set about making themselves the first Fairtrade Town, to see how our movement has maintained its bottom-up approach. From speaking to those involved in Fairtrade in France it would seem that for them, the opposite is the case. At present it seems to be led by governance at various local and regional levels.
France has some of its own unique challenges to overcome. Take for instance Fairtrade wine. Here it is hugely popular. In France however things are a bit different! It’s pitching against French wine, not only hugely popular throughout France, but also an economically important export.
But putting those differences aside, the need for international co-operation and solidarity has never been more vital. I attended workshop on public procurement with representatives from Leeds City Council and Ville de Lille. It was clear that many of the problems we face here when it comes to sustainable procurement are exactly the same in France as we fall under the same regulations. As recent as 20th May we’ve seen the European Parliament, in its “New Developments in Public Procurement” report, call on the EU Commission to support Fair Trade in public procurement.
With such a need for international co-operation across Europe it was therefore pleasing to see such strong international relations between Lille and Leeds- particularly on the topic of Fairtrade. Only with an international outlook will we achieve further reform to bring about fair trade.
Ian Adderley. Chair, Fairtrade Leeds.
