Fairtrade
certified cotton carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark was launched internationally
in April 2005.
Fairtrade certification of cotton is
currently helping over 95,000 people - farmers, workers and their families - to improve their lives, as well as
the wider community, through receipt of a fair price for their cotton and a Fairtrade premium.
Fairtrade cotton is
cotton which has met the international Fairtrade standard for production of seed cotton and is therefore eligible
to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark. The Mark is an independent product certification
label which guarantees that cotton farmers are getting a better deal -
receiving a fair and stable Fairtrade price and Fairtrade premium, receiving
pre-financing where requested and benefiting from longer-term, more direct
trading relationships. The Fairtrade minimum price is set at the farm gate
level and is based on actual costs of sustainable production. If the local
market price is higher than this minimum price, then the market price applies.
An additional payment of a Fairtrade premium is set aside for farmers’
organizations to spend on social and environmental projects or to strengthen
their businesses. This ensures that communities have the power and resources to
invest in long-term improvements. Elected farmer committees decide democratically
how these premiums are spent.
Q. Is
Fairtrade cotton organic? If it isn’t, what is Fairtrade doing about the issues
of chemicals in the cotton farming industry?
A. Fair Trade standards require sustainable farming techniques and offer price premiums for organic production,
However, Fair Trade certification does not guarantee that a product was
organically grown.
Fair Trade farmers are more likely to use sustainable, traditional growing
methods rather than apply agrochemicals,
and producer groups frequently use Fair Trade revenues to train members in
environmentally sustainable farming practices and to finance the cost of
organic certification. “FLO
encourages producers to work towards organic certification” (FLO, 2003).
As of November 2005, 50 cotton producer groups have been
Fairtrade certified, 8 of which also have organic certification.
"Fairtrade standards do encourage producers to become
certified organic however we do not require all Fairtrade certified producer
groups to farm organically."(FLO 2006)
Where farmers are not certified organic, they are
required to implement a system of integrated crop management (ICM) which
enables them to establish a balance between environmental protection and
business results through the permanent monitoring of economic and environmental
indicators.
This integrated crop farming approach progressively
replaces traditional inputs with organic fertilizers and biological disease
control and enables farmers to convert gradually to organic farming.
All Fairtrade certified cotton producers are required to
demonstrate increased diligence in choosing appropriate non-harmful chemicals
or a biological or home-made alternative wherever possible. As would be
expected, this means that pesticides in the Pesticide Action Network’s “dirty
dozen” list and pesticides in FAO/UNEP's Prior Informed Consent Procedure list cannot be used.
Does FLO
have standards for Cotton?
International
(FLO) standards have now been developed for raw cotton (seed cotton) that will guarantee certified farmers a fair and sustainable price
for the cotton that they sell into Fairtrade
registered supply chains. Fairtrade seed
cotton is the harvested cotton crop (seeds and fiber), sold by small farmers of
a FLO
certified smallholder organization. Except
where specifically provided in these standards, all cotton in FLO Fairtrade
Cotton products must be sourced originally from FLO Certified Producers.
FLO has
published two types of standards for cotton cultivation. Under the umbrella of
“Fairtrade Standards for small farmers”, there are;
- Fair
trade standards for cotton seed which were first design for African cotton then
expanded to India and Pakistan.
- Fair
trade standards for contract production of cotton in India and Pakistan (FLO,
2005). They take into account the existence of promoting bodies such as AGROCEL
and Maikaal which are specific to this geographical area.
Where does Fairtrade cotton
come from and what difference will it make?
Farmers’ groups are from India, Peru, Mali, Cameroon,
Burkina Faso, Senegal and Egypt. For these cotton
farmers the guaranteed Fairtrade minimum price, which covers the cost
of sustainable production, can make a crucial difference to their ability to
meet their basic needs. There are
plans to extend certification to more
producer groups from countries including Pakistan and Brazil.
How does a company get the Fairtrade label for a cotton
product?
The FAIRTRADE Mark certifies
individual products and not whole companies. The Mark indicates that the products
have complied with internationally agreed standards for Fairtrade certification. Fairtrade certified cotton products
are sourced from smallholder cooperatives that are independently certified by our international body, Fairtrade
Labelling Organizations International (FLO). All the traders in the supply
chain have been registered with the
Fairtrade system and work to our trading standards. These include sourcing
from certified associations of smallholders, paying the agreed minimum
Fairtrade price and social premium, providing
pre-financing where requested, committing to long-term, more direct trading relationships, and independent
auditing of their supply chains. Any company that is able to comply with these trading standards for
their products is eligible to apply for the FAIRTRADE Mark.
NOTE: Under the Fairtrade MARK it is only the cotton that is certified Fairtrade. Not the yarn, fabric or garment.
Therefore a product can only be referred to as Fairtrade Cotton NOT
for example a Fairtrade cotton shirt.
Proper labeling: “Made with FAIRTRADE
Certified Cotton”
Each
stage in the commercial supply chain to process Fair Trade Certified cotton
from raw cotton into its final product must demonstrate compliance with ILO international labour standards. In the production of all
cotton, company and
sub-contracted companies within in the supply chain, including those doing the
ginning, spinning, weaving, knitting and dyeing,
etc. of the cotton, must clearly demonstrate they are in compliance with ILO
Labor Standards. Including holding an International Fair Trade Association
(IFAT) membership certificate or demonstrating that the company is a worker’s
cooperative.
Is
there a Fairtrade 'mark' for Fairtrade Certified Cotton?
Yes. As noted above.
Comments