Paull, John, 2011, Proceedings of the Third Scientific Conference of ISOFAR (International
Society of Organic Agriculture Research), 28 September - 1 October, Namyangju, Korea.
The Fairtrade movement: Six lessons for the organics sector
Paull, J.1
Key words: organic agriculture, certification, logos, social engagement, Max Havelaar.
Abstract
Fairtrade retail sales increased by 12.1% in the UK while organics sales decreased by
12.9% in 2009. This paper examines the lessons that the organics sector might usefully
draw from the successful experiences of the Fairtrade movement. Three lessons of
exposition and three lessons of engagement are identified. Fairtrade has a common
logo across markets, typically there is a narrative, and the provenance of the
ingredients is stated. Fairtrade has successfully extended its branding to engage with
places and educational and faith communities, and to publicly acknowledge such
engagements. There are 500 Fairtrade Towns in the UK, along with 118 Fairtrade
universities, a diversity of faith communities including over 6000 Fairtrade churches,
and over 4000 UK schools are registered in the Fairtrade Schools Scheme.
Introduction
Organics and Fairtrade share much in common. They both differentiate their products in
the marketplace, both offer third party certification of food and farming, both have
appeal to the ‘ethical consumer’, and they both typically sell at a premium price.
Retail sales of Fairtrade products in the UK increased by 12.1% in 2009 (Fairtrade
Foundation, 2010). Over the same period, retail sales of organic products in the UK
decreased by 12.9% (Soil Association, 2010). It is tempting to attribute the decline in
organics sales to the recession, however the increase in Fairtrade sales contradicts any
such simple ‘explanation’.
The stated goal of the organics movement is the worldwide adoption of organic
agriculture (www.ifoam.org). If that is to be achieved then annual gains need to be
consolidated year on year. Historically, the experience of the organics sector has been
steady incremental growth. At the historical rates of increase, organics would require 39
years to triumph assuming a geometric rate of increase, like compound interest, or 544
years if the increase is arithmetic, like simple interest (Paull, 2010). A step backwards,
as has just been witnessed for the UK organics market, and that in concert with a step
forward for Fairtrade, invites consideration of the question: are there lessons for the
organics sector to be learned from the Fairtrade movement?
Materials and methods
The practices, documentation and statistics of organics and Fairtrade, two third-party
certification systems for food and agriculture that have developed independently, are
compared and contrasted using longitudinal data and contemporary information with a
view to drawing lessons that may be useful in advancing the organics cause.
1
Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
E-Mail:
[email protected],
[email protected]
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Results
Global Fairtrade retail sales are valued at €2.3B and there are 1.5 million producers in
58 countries (Fick, 2009). The Fairtrade certification mark is a trademark of Fairtrade
Labelling Organisations International (FLO) which has 24 member organisations (Fick,
2009) and was founded in 1997. This compares to the global organics market valued at
€37.2B, with 1.8 million producers in 160 countries (Willer & Kilcher, 2011). The
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) has 804 member
organisations and was founded in 1972.
In the past twelve years organics sales in the UK have increased 372% (Soil
Association, 2010). Fairtrade sales in the same period, coming off a much lower base,
have increased 4600% (Fairtrade Foundation, 2010). UK organics sales decreased in
2009 while Fairtrade sales increased. In a study of consumers, 31% of British shoppers
stated that they expect to purchase more Fairtrade products in the future, while, in
contrast, only 9% expect to purchase more organic products (IGD, 2010).
There is some overlap of organic and Fairtrade certification schemes. For example, the
global supermarket Lidl’s ‘Fairglobe’ coffee, “Highland Coffee from Ethiopia, Peru and
Papua New Guinea”, bears certifications from both Fairtrade and the UK’s Soil
Association. The coffee prominently declares its provenance and such a declaration is a
core element of the Fairtrade narrative. The ‘Fairglobe’ product also informs shoppers:
“The Fairtrade Certification Mark is your independent guarantee that this product has
been certified with the international Fairtrade standards. The purchase of this product
enables the improvement of working and living conditions of producers in developing
countries and encourages environmental protection. www.info.fairtrade.net” (Lidl, 2010,
rear label). The product bears no corresponding organics narrative; the inscription
“Økologikontrolmyndighed” is not a substitute for an explanatory narrative and will
surely have low or zero informational value for British shoppers. Organic-certified
products sold in the UK frequently omit their provenance. This omission makes sense
from a producer point of view since the product may ‘brag’ of a positive attribute, such
as its ‘organic-ness’, while suppressing what may be perceived as a negatively valued
provenance, such as ‘China’ (Paull, 2009a).
Both Fairtrade and organic certified products rely on logos for product differentiation their products are otherwise indistinguishable in the market. The approach to logos
differs substantially. For Fairtrade food there is a common logo used in almost all
markets. The same logo is used in markets as culturally and linguistically diverse as:
Austria; Belgium; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; France; Finland; Ireland; Italy;
Japan; Latvia; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; Norway; Spain; and Sweden. Despite the
diversity of languages across these markets, the linguistic element incorporated in the
logo in each case is the English ‘Fairtrade’.
The Fairtrade mark is recognized by 82% of UK consumers and, of these, 94% report
that they trust the mark (Fick, 2009) The logo is distinctive and readily recognizable with
colourful graphical elements and accompanying the graphic is the single word
‘Fairtrade’. Without compromising the integrity of the logo, the Danish and Belgian
Fairtrade labels add ‘Max Havelaar’ in a smaller font (www.maxhavelaar.dk;
w w w. m a x h a v e l a a r. b e ) a n d t h e S p a n i s h l o g o a d d s ‘ C o m e r c i o
Justo’ (www.sellocomerciojusto.org). In contrast, there is no universal organics logo.
Organics certifiers, of which there are over 500, each impose their own logo
(www.ifoam.org) which lack any commonality of shape, graphic elements, or text. China
has its own national organics logo which bears bilingual text in Chinese and English
(Paull, 2009a). The European Union from 1 July 2010 has mandated an EU-wide
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organics logo which may be accompanied by a certifier logo. However, the EU organics
logo has no text, and this renders it intrinsically indecipherable - a dozen white stars on
a green ground can be ‘read’ as ‘organic’ only by the initiated.
Fairtrade has been very successful in engaging places and communities in its vision.
Garstang in Lancashire was the first Fairtrade Town in 2001. The Oxfordshire town of
Bicester has recently become the 500th ‘Fairtrade Town’ in the UK (Mall, 2010). Oxford
Brookes University became the world’s first Fairtrade university in 2003, and there are
now 118 Fairtrade universities and colleges in the UK. Faith communities are well
engaged with Fairtrade; and include: over 6000 Fairtrade churches; 39 Fairtrade
synagogues; a Fairtrade mosque; and a Fairtrade Hindu temple. There are more than
4000 UK schools registered in the Fairtrade Schools Scheme (Mall, 2010).
In contrast, proposed extensions of organic certification have frequently met with
resistance. The Soil Association, in partnership with Garden Organic, is heavily involved
in the ‘Food for Life’ programme and 2850 schools are enrolled. The website asks: “So
what is the Food for Life Partnership award scheme all about? The Food for Life
Partnership Mark is an action framework and award scheme to help schools and their
communities transform their food culture. Food for Life Partnership schools are
committed to serving freshly prepared, well sourced food and linking pupils with the
farms where it was produced, while inspiring them to cook and grow food for
themselves” (www.foodforlife.org.uk). This may all be commendable but any mention of
‘organic’ in the name of the programme, or this stated rationale, is entirely absent.
Discussion
Sales of Fairtrade and organics have both exhibited substantial growth over the past
decade, however, with Fairtrade sales advancing and UK organics sales in retreat most
recently, it is timely to consider what lessons might be drawn. There are “barriers” to
“shopping ethically” and any lessons that can be drawn may most usefully be viewed in
the light of these. Consumers identify four such barriers: ”too expensive” is cited by 52%
of shoppers; “lack of availability” by 31%; “lack of trust” by 14%; and “lack of knowledge”
by 17% (IGD, 2008).
There are at least six lessons that can be drawn and they fall into two categories exposition and engagement. Three exposition lessons pertain to logo, narrative and
provenance. Three engagement lessons pertain to places, faith and schools.
The first exposition lesson relates to product differentiation. In the case of Fairtrade,
with only a few exceptions such as USA and Mexico, there is a common Fairtrade logo
shared across geographic and linguistic boundaries. The logo text is in English,
implicitly acknowledging English as the universal language of our times. In contrast, the
new text-free European organics mark has near to zero intrinsic meaningfulness, and
even the experienced semiotician has no key to unlock its cryptic ‘message’. A single
universal organics logo would make organic certified produce more readily visible in the
marketplace, it would ease the label-reading burden on shoppers, and it would be a
demonstration of sector unity. A common organics logo would add visibility and
credibility to the organics project, and this can address three of the barrier issues:
availability, trust and knowledge.
Two further exposition lessons are to add a narrative message and the provenance to
organics products. Aldi Australia, for example, add the message “grown as nature
intended with no chemicals or additives, altogether a better way to eat” to their organic
products, and the organic honey label clearly states the provenance as “Kangaroo
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Island, South Australia”. Such narrative and provenance elements address two
consumer barriers by adding knowledge and potentially enhancing trust
Fairtrade has been very effective in engaging geographic, social and age cohorts in
their vision. The organic sector has been slow and reluctant to extend its ’organic’
designation beyond food and farm. The Fairtrade movement, in contrast, identifies and
engages key social constituencies and enables the public declaration of that
engagement. These initiatives include recruiting towns and universities, a diversity of
faith communities, plus primary and secondary schools are being actively and very
successfully recruited into the Fairtrade vision. Today’s school children are potentially
tomorrow’s ethical and eco-aware consumers. The vision of engaging children into an
organic vision dates back at least to the organics pioneer Henry Shoobridge and the
Living Soil Association of Tasmania in 1946 (Paull, 2009b), and yet the recruitment of
children into the organics vision of the world remains elusive, and meanwhile at their
AGMs, for example, we witness the aging cohort of certain organics advocacy groups.
Conclusions
There are lessons to be drawn from comparing the recent experiences of Fairtrade and
organics. Such lessons, drawn from the experiences in one domain and applied to
another, are, of necessity, at best indicative rather than definitive. Nevertheless there is
substantial commonality of principles, practice, and propositions shared across these
two movements and this argues for the potential value and tranferability of lessons.
With Fairtrade surging ahead and the most recent experience of the UK organics sector
contracting, the adoption of any such lessons may be timely, although, admittedly, their
novelty may require some mind-set changes. In this study the lessons identified are of
two types - exposition and engagement - and their implementation may serve to
enhance the consumer offering, to address three of the consumer-barriers to ethical
consumption, and to recruit and cohere constituencies.
References
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