 The
Scottish district of East Renfrewshire has—along with towns,
villages, schools, and more than 1,000 churches throughout
Britain—recently secured "fair trade status." Ken Macintosh, the
district's member of the Scottish Parliament, writes, "It took
some doing. We've been meeting regularly for the best part of
three years, and for every new business that we signed up, one
seemed to slip away again." But the effort was worth it.
"Momentum is really going our way on fair trade awareness—on
ethical consumerism generally. Fair trade allows each of us to
use our power as consumers to challenge inequality. Producers
get a fair return on a fair day's work. Not a handout, but
respect; not exploitation, but genuine trade. It's good for the
developing world, but it's good for us as a society too."
For municipal
bodies, fair trade status begins with local government passing
resolutions to support trade justice and committing to using
fair trade goods in all meetings and facilities. A local
steering committee is convened to ensure ongoing promotion of
fair trade products and advocacy in the community. Authorities
must document that a certain percentage of local businesses are
committed to selling and using fairly traded products and set
targets for growth in this area. The Fairtrade Foundation
certifies when the standards have been met.
Now Scotland and
Wales have gone the extra espresso and declared themselves "fair
trade nations," pursuing similar measures and goals within
government departments and nationwide. The Scottish Parliament
is encouraging faith groups, trade unions, schools, and
voluntary organizations to sign fair trade pledges and go
through fair trade certification.
Linda Fabiani,
another member of the Scottish Parliament, describes the impact
attending a "fair trade" school has on children: "I was in the
local co-op and heard a wee lad ask his mum about whether the
orange juice she'd put in the basket was fair trade." Fabiani
introduced herself, and the boy, who recognized her from a visit
to his school, "proceeded to check everything in my basket, and
thankfully I had fair trade goods, other than red wine."
According to
Tearfund, unjust trade robs poorer nations of £1.3 ($2.52)
billion every day. Scotland and Wales becoming "fair trade"
won't fix this. But their citizens' habits and awareness will
change, and for at least some developing world producers, life
will no longer be mired in poverty. Clearly, though, the
potential is not about bucks, but bang. When Scotland raises its
voice about trade justice in the European Union and United
Kingdom parliaments, when Welsh and Scottish businesses deal
with suppliers and customers in other parts of the world,
when—in a decade or two—kids who have been educated entirely at
fair trade institutions start to run things themselves, the
consequences could be huge.
All this began
with Richard Adams throwing a very small stone into a very large
ocean. Year after year the pebbles get bigger, as do the
ripples. Pick up a rock.
For
more information on fair trade status in the U.K., visit
www.fairtrade.org.uk. |
