In 1994 CLIPPER launched the UK’s first Fairtrade tea and we continue to carry the widest range of Fairtrade teas and Fairtrade coffees with 71 products displaying the Fairtrad Mark
CLIPPER is audited annually by the Fairtrade Foundation and by The Soil Association.
What is the Fairtrade Mark?
The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal. For a product to display the FAIRTRADE Mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards. These standards are set by the international certification body Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). Producer organisations that supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by FLO. They receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects. The Fairtrade Foundation licenses the FAIRTRADE Mark to products in the UK which meet FLO standards. The supplier (brand-owner or main national distributor) must sign the Foundation’s Licence Agreement which provides a licence to use the Mark.
For full information on Fairtrade follow this link www.fairtrade.org.uk
What Fairtrade means to Clipper
For many years the retail price of tea and coffee has fallen due mainly to over supply. With tea and coffee being grown entirely in Developing World countries this situation exposes many vulnerable people to poverty and can lead to exploitation.
At CLIPPER we recognise that this situation places a particular obligation on us to trade exclusively with tea growers and coffee farmers who act responsibly towards the people who depend on them for their income and welfare.
The Fairtrade Mark is not only about setting and monitoring standards it also includes paying an additional ‘social premium’ beyond the purchase price helping tea and coffee workers to improve their lives. For tea workers this means that for every kilo of tea we purchase and sell under the Fairtrade symbol we pay an additional €0.50 (50 euro cents) or €1.00, depending upon the grade of tea, called a ‘social premium’ into a special fund managed and distributed by an elected joint body of tea workers and management representatives on each tea estate. These elected groups decide how best to spend this money to benefit their individual communities.
From very humble beginnings in the 1990’s the extra or social premiums CLIPPER provides each year has increased with the growing demand for Fairtrade Mark teas to over €1,000,000 over the past five years and €320,000 over the past year (March 2007).
The difference between Fairtrade coffee and Fairtrade tea.
Fairtrade standards for coffee are different to those applied to tea. This is because typically tea is grown on tea estates often employing hundreds of people and the extra or ‘social premium’ we contribute is distributed democratically, as explained above. Coffee is grown mainly by farming families often forming co-operatives and relying primarily on receiving at least a minimum price sufficient to cover their costs, their income and a sustainability margin. This minimum price is set by FLO under the Fairtrade standards. In 2006 Clipper purchased 1,751,334 lb of Fairtrade coffee beans contributing additional social premiums of $0.05 US per lb.
What else are we doing?
In addition to the way we trade with our suppliers the licence fees we pay quarterly to the Fairtrade Foundation (a UK registered charity) are important in supporting their costs and the development and expansion of Fairtrade practices. Over the past year this amounts to over £170,000 (to March 2007).
Artikeln publicerades den onsdag 27 augusti, 2008.
