Two Maltese fair traders from the local world shop L-Arka took part in the sixth biennial conference of the International Federation of Alternative Trade (IFAT) held in Arusha, Tanzania, in June, over 200 fair traders from some 40 countries discussed issues related to fair trade in general and to the monitoring of producers and fair trade organisations in particular.
IFAT is a world-wide network of Fair Trade organisations (at present it has 158 Members in 50 countries) and is the only international network which represents the whole Fair Trade chain from production to sale. The biennial conference it organises is the most important international meeting for fair traders which brings together producers in the South of the World; international fair trade consultants; and large fair trade organisations, like CTM in Italy and Traidcraft in the UK, that bring fair-traded products to Europe and monitor producers.
This was the first time that Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust (KKĠ, Fair Trade Cooperative), the only fair trade organisation in Malta, took part in this major international event. KKĠ is a social cooperative that was founded in 1996 and has been running the world shop L-Arka in St. Paul’s Street, Valletta, since October 1997. Apart from being a member of IFAT, the Maltese cooperative is a member of the largest Italian fair trade organisation CTM Altromercato; it is also a member of Etimos (an Italian organisation that promotes ethical finance); and APEX, the association of Maltese cooperatives. The new IFAT president who was elected at the Arusha conference, Rudi Dalvai, is a member of CTM.
Talking about Fair Trade in Malta
On their return to Malta, the Maltese representatives described the conference “as an ideal occasion for a relatively young fair trade organisation like ours to meet other organisations that are involved in fair trade and to learn from each other’s experiences.”
Stacey Ebejer said that the organisations they met were impressed by the fact that the members of the Maltese fair-trade cooperative are volunteers. “To many of them this is unthinkable because running such a “business” enterprise demands so much time and dedication. Our international partners appreciate our voluntary commitment to justice in world trade and to the alleviation of poverty, but being volunteers is no excuse for doing things in an unprofessional way.
"We have to work more on creating awareness among the Maltese people. We haven’t done enough to tell the Maltese that fair trade is all about making an informed choice, about choosing the product that supports rather than exploits the disadvantaged workers in the poor countries of the world. We haven’t made them aware enough that fair trade is an integrated, holistic approach that really makes a long-term difference in the life of the poor. Of course, for this kind of campaign, you need time and lots of resources.”
According to Sina Pisani, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of L-Arka, “For a relatively small organisation like ours, it was a great inspiration to be part of such an important fair trade event and to meet people from all over the world who share the same ideals and goals.”
“On a personal level, it was a pleasure to meet the people behind the products we promote and sell and to explore new ways of dealing with both producers and suppliers. What we have gained from the conference will greatly help us to promote fair trade in Malta.”
The participation of Sina Pisani and Stacey Ebejer was supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Foundation. The two Maltese fair traders also thanked IFAT “who encouraged us to be there and share our experiences with the other members of the Federation.” IFAT believes in and supports small organisations like the local fair trade cooperative and L-Arka because fair trade is all about empowering people. It is not a movement that favours those who already have the means to support themselves.
The conference also discussed the problem created by those who, unwittingly or maliciously pose as fair traders. This was viewed as a problem not only for ethical reasons but more so because fair trade prides itself on transparency and credibility and fake fair traders mislead their conscientious customers. This can have the unfortunate adverse effect of reducing the public’s faith in the real fair trade.
The Strong Impact of Fair Trade
One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation of a study on the state of fair trade in Europe by the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA). EFTA is a network of 12 Fair Trade organisations in nine European countries which import Fair Trade products from over 600 economically disadvantaged producer groups in Africa, Asia and Latin America. EFTA's members are based in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The EFTA study presented at the Arusha conference in June, called “The Impact of Fair Trade: How successful have fair traders been in meeting their goals”, insists that in the relationship with their customers, fair traders must move “From Trust Me to Show Me”. They are duty-bound to provide as much material as possible to “show” their customers that their product reaches the high standards of quality and “fairness” that they profess. The EFTA representative at Arusha emphasized the need for the fair trade movement to strengthen its credibility among the general public and to market its products in an effective way. She also urged them to provide proof to donors so as to continue to build on the latter’s commitment to fair trade and its principles. Another point tackled by the EFTA representative was the need to provide fair trade producers in the poorer countries with guidance to develop their communities in socially, economically and environmentally sustainable ways.
In this context, EFTA highlighted once again the fundamental characteristics of this form of trade. Fair trade:
• pays a fair price
• supports the disadvantaged producers
• has direct contact with producers
• provides market access to producers
• strengthens producers
• is transparent
The EFTA May 2001 report shows that in Europe fair trade has grown in an impressive way. There are now 100 importers in 18 European countries that employ 1,250 workers and have a total turnover of 120 million euros. Fair trade products are now available in 3000 world shops that operate with the help of around 100,000 volunteers. Fair trade products are also available in over 45,000 supermarkets in 18 European countries bringing the total turnover to 280 million euros.
Experience and Commitment
One of the issues that was brought up again and again throughout the conference was the need to create a better network between the different members of IFAT to increase awareness about the various initiatives being taken. In the near future, this need will grow because of the rate at which fair trade, despite the setbacks that all such wide-ranging initiatives experience, is expanding.
In fair trade, the issue of better networking is a fundamental issue, because as Brid Bowen puts it, the fundamental characteristic of fair trade is that of “equal partnership and respect - partnership between the Southern producers and Northern importers, fair trade shops, labelling organisations and consumers.”
Fair trade "humanises" the trade process - making the producer-consumer chain as short as possible so that consumers become aware of the culture, identity and conditions in which producers live. All actors are committed to the principle of fair trade, the need for transparency in their working relations and the importance of awareness-raising and advocacy work. The idea of the "invisible hand" has given way to the idea of working "hand in hand", with the market regulated by democratic authorities.
Stacey Ebejer described this year’s IFAT biennial international conference as “a very well-organized conference. It has given our cooperative and L-Arka an excellent opportunity to make contacts with producers and discuss important issues like monitoring products and producers to make sure that the fair-trade products we sell at L-Arka are 100% “fair”. This is absolutely essential both for us and for our customers. Besides, as a direct result of our contacts at the IFAT conference, those who support fair trade will soon be seeing some exciting new products in our shop.”
Adrian Grima
24 June, 2001