As you may have guessed OFM is all about Organic, Buying Local, Sustainability and Fair Trade. But what is Fair Trade?
Recently one of our traders at Marrickville Markets had a spread in Ciao Magazine. Which prompted us to think thus: maybe there are people out there who may not entirely understand what Fair Trade is.
So we thought we would take some time and have a chat with Tony from A Sustainable Life and get the low down.
Can you give us a little bit of history as to a) how A Sustainable Life came in to being and b) your involvement with it
I have always been interested in food, it's production and trade. However, the initial impetus for starting A Sustainable Life was when our children started attending child care and school. These organisations would foist upon unsuspecting parents boxes of non fair trade chocolates to raise money for their organisations.
I was taken aback at the lack of awareness and the terrible irony that these organisations were raising money for our children at the expense of children in West Africa, where there is endemic child slavery.
So we set about sourcing fair trade chocolate to that could be used for school fundraising and in the process educating people about fair trade.
As demand for our fair trade products grew, we then decided to start up a stall at Marrickville Markets and bring our products to the wider community.
For those who may not fully understand, what is the definition of "Fair Trade"
The Fair Trade system is an alternate trading mechanism that provides a minimum price for products that protects the farmers from downturns and provides stable and secure income.
In addition to this payment, an extra payment is made to the community so that they can invest in health, environment, education or infrastructure.
The Fair Trade system also pays a premium for producing organic products as a way of encouraging sustainable agriculture.
As consumers, what role can we play to ensure that the integrity of Fair Trade remains true to its core value
Always remember that as consumers we have the power to change the world. Every day we make choices about what we buy or don't buy.
When you buy a Fair Trade product you are helping to change the lives of people in the communities where the raw materials are grown.
Buying Fair Trade is one of the most effective forms of aid as it empowers these producers to address the trade imbalance and lift their communities out of poverty.
Where do you source your products from
Our products come from many sources: from small family roasters to importers and distributors.
All these companies have made a commitment to Fair Trade and sustainability.
You recently had an article written about you in Ciao Magazine (as seen above) which was sensational! What has been the response from the Inner Westies at market, and do you think articles such as this will assist (albeit in tiny steps) in promoting not just awareness but provoke us as shoppers, in to thinking more about what we buy and not grumble if it "costs more" if the ends justify the means
The feedback has been great. Education is part and parcel of what we do, so it is very important to us to raise awareness as much as possible, and articles such as the one in Ciao Magazine helps us to achieve that awareness.
What we have tried to do is keep the prices as low as possible so that more people will buy Fair Trade and of course increase the benefits back to the producing communities.
We all need to think more about how our food is produced, not just Fair Trade, but all our food so we can make the best sustainable choices.
Can you give us a little bit of history as to a) how A Sustainable Life came in to being and b) your involvement with it
I have always been interested in food, it's production and trade. However, the initial impetus for starting A Sustainable Life was when our children started attending child care and school. These organisations would foist upon unsuspecting parents boxes of non fair trade chocolates to raise money for their organisations.
I was taken aback at the lack of awareness and the terrible irony that these organisations were raising money for our children at the expense of children in West Africa, where there is endemic child slavery.
So we set about sourcing fair trade chocolate to that could be used for school fundraising and in the process educating people about fair trade.
As demand for our fair trade products grew, we then decided to start up a stall at Marrickville Markets and bring our products to the wider community.
For those who may not fully understand, what is the definition of "Fair Trade"
The Fair Trade system is an alternate trading mechanism that provides a minimum price for products that protects the farmers from downturns and provides stable and secure income.
In addition to this payment, an extra payment is made to the community so that they can invest in health, environment, education or infrastructure.
The Fair Trade system also pays a premium for producing organic products as a way of encouraging sustainable agriculture.
As consumers, what role can we play to ensure that the integrity of Fair Trade remains true to its core value
Always remember that as consumers we have the power to change the world. Every day we make choices about what we buy or don't buy.
When you buy a Fair Trade product you are helping to change the lives of people in the communities where the raw materials are grown.
Buying Fair Trade is one of the most effective forms of aid as it empowers these producers to address the trade imbalance and lift their communities out of poverty.
Where do you source your products from
Our products come from many sources: from small family roasters to importers and distributors.
All these companies have made a commitment to Fair Trade and sustainability.
You recently had an article written about you in Ciao Magazine (as seen above) which was sensational! What has been the response from the Inner Westies at market, and do you think articles such as this will assist (albeit in tiny steps) in promoting not just awareness but provoke us as shoppers, in to thinking more about what we buy and not grumble if it "costs more" if the ends justify the means
The feedback has been great. Education is part and parcel of what we do, so it is very important to us to raise awareness as much as possible, and articles such as the one in Ciao Magazine helps us to achieve that awareness.
What we have tried to do is keep the prices as low as possible so that more people will buy Fair Trade and of course increase the benefits back to the producing communities.
We all need to think more about how our food is produced, not just Fair Trade, but all our food so we can make the best sustainable choices.
**********
Food for thought both literally and figuratively. So when you are out shopping take time to think properly about your choices, look to find the Fair Trade Symbol and know that when you do purchase Fair Trade merchandise, it may not appear to be a big deal to you, but it may just well be a big deal to somebody else in the best possible way.
Our thanks to Tony for giving us some thought provoking insight and to Ciao Magazine for allowing to kindly reproduce their article.
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