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► Fair Trade

DSU – Working towards Fair Trade

De Montfort University is working to become a Fairtrade University. 

This means that the DSU and the University are jointly working to meet a set of standards which include promoting Fairtrade across our campuses and ensuring that fairtrade products are widely available in shops and cafes.

Fairtrade? What’s that all about then?

The FAIRTRADE Mark is a label which is used by products which have meet very tough standards of international trade. For a product to display the FAIRTRADE Mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards which are set by the international certification body Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International(FLO). 

These standards are agreed through a process of research and consultation with key participants in the Fairtrade scheme, including producers themselves, traders, NGOs, academic institutions and labelling organisations such as the Fairtrade Foundation.

These international standards aim to help communities of small-scale farmers in the majority world with social, economic, and environmental development. 

This means ensuring that producers and traders of Fairtrade products are given a fair price for their goods and they receive a fair wage which always covers the cost of production and that producers and traders get a premium sometimes called the ‘social premium’ which can be invested by their communities in healthcare and education projects. Fairtrade also requires that minimum environmental standardsare adhered to in the production of goods.

Essentially Fairtrade is a tool for development that ensures disadvantaged farmers and workers in developing countries get a better deal through the use of the international FAIRTRADE Mark.

The only organisation that can license the use of the Fairtrade Mark in the UK is the Fairtrade Foundation. Lots of details about the great work that the Fairtrade Foundation do can be found on their website (http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/) 

The Foundation was set up by CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Traidcraft and the World Development Movement, later joined by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes. Member organisations now also include Banana Link, Methodist Relief and Development Fund, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, People & Planet, SCIAF, Shared Interest Foundation Soroptimist International , Tearfund and the United Reformed Church 

So what’s the difference between Fairtrade, Fairly Traded and Fair Trade?

Fairtrade is an accreditation, labelling system which certifies that products bearing the Fairtrade Mark meet a range of specific criteria. "Fair trade" expresses a rather wider vision of development, covering a much wider range of products than can be certified, and embraces campaigning and awareness raising activity, as well as trading in food products. 

OK, sounds good so far. So what is a Fairtrade University?

Basically it means that DSU and DMU have agreed to meet 5 key goals which have been laid down by the Fairtrade Foundation, the leading Fairtrade body in the UK. 

However we need to ‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talk the talk’. We do this by sending information to the Fairtrade Foundation to show how we have met the goals. If they agree that we have met the 5 key goals we are awarded Fairtrade University status. Whoop, whoop! 

The goals are that the University has a Fairtrade Policy, a Fairtrade Steering group has been formed, Fairtrade products are available across the campuses and that we are committed to promote Fairtrade and Fairtrade products. Further details about the goals can be found here.

What has been going on to promote Fairtrade?

Well DSU and DMU have been very busy promoting Fairtrade in lots of ways. We have organised a film screening of Black Gold, a film about coffee, world trade and fair trade, we have organised Fairtrade promotions and giveaways (mmmmm chocolate!) and helped to make Fairtrade smoothies as part of the Big Switch Off!

We have also made sure the DSU use Fairtrade products in its outlets, check out the Wicked coffee, and that we continue to promote Fairtrade to our members.

Not only that but we have been making sure that each of the 5 goals have been met and completing an application form for Fairtrade University status to send to the Fairtrade Foundation! So fingers crossed that we soon become a Fairtrade University.

What’s happening in Leicester on Fairtrade?

Leicester was one of the first Fairtrade Cities and has continued to promote and raise awareness about Fairtrade. As a result of this Leicester has its very own fair trade shop called Just... Fairtrade (http://www.justfairtrade.com/). The Just shop has lots of fabulous fairly traded goodies from clothes to food and jewellery, its well worth a visit. Leicester also has its own Fairtrade group called LaFT (Leicester Advocates Fair Trade) which meets on a regular basis to promote Fairtrade. 

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