Fair Trade; Fairly Obvious?

If you every actually try to sit down and work out who is trying to do what in the area of ethical trading, you'll be due a headache. The increasing number of branded non-profit organisations and NGOs is making consumers who buy ethically sourced products very confused indeed.

My initial mission to "Come out to Latin America to work in Fair Trade" is an admission in this confusion itself; Fair Trade is but one brand amongst a range that are out there representing ethical trading and sourcing, admittedly with more profile than others. Recently it has enjoyed a rise in awareness and publicity with the partnering of various large companies such as Cadbury, Starbucks and Sarah Lee all sourcing Fair Trade commodities. However, many people feel that Fair Trade has diverged from its original purpose with these developments and it was very interesting to read an interview with one of the founders, Frans Van Der Hoff, regarding the evolution of Fair Trade on the Equal Exchange blog. To quote:

"The interview couldn’t have come at a better time. Consumer confusion about the goals and impact of Fair Trade vs. other brands and certifications is at an all-time high. And that should come as no surprise. The certifying agencies (FLO International and Transfair USA) have watered down the purpose and integrity of the movement, aiming for dollars over mission, breadth over depth, as they lower standards to increase the number of products available on the shelves...

...somewhere along the line, the certifiers began marketing Fair Trade as a poverty alleviation strategy, rather than an economic transformation model as it was originally intended. Alleviation means, “to lessen (pain, for example); to make more bearable.” Fair Trade was actually created to provide producers with a basic level of security, a social net to raise people out of abject conditions so that they would have the ability to approach their situations with more complex strategies, not to alleviate, but to change their economic conditions.

The original founders of Fair Trade knew that economic conditions don’t change by extending charity. They understood the far more impactful goal of supporting farmer organizations so that together, the farmers can tackle the myriad issues which will enable them to create better conditions for themselves. Organized farmers build economic and political power, create social programs, lobby governments, enlist the collaboration of others by building solidarity networks. This is the true power (and potential) of Fair Trade."

It is interesting to see how an organisation that is seen to have achieved so much is to some extent becoming a victim of its own success, and how the directors will seek to capitalise on their successes without comprimising the basis of the brand. One key difference for me is the divergence of seeking to support farmer organisations and the social stability and benefits that they bring, over increasing awareness of a brand, much as any other corporation with less ethical designs on sourcing would.

Lima, Peru
5th Novermber 2009

Jon Clarke, The Face of Beer

A couple of days previously, word got around the hostel that someone was looking for white faced extras for a beer commercial, salary tag $100. Naturally my ears pricked up and before too long I was standing infront of a camera in a fairly hilarious screen test being told by recruiter Dulce ("sweet" in Spanish, doubtless her birth name) to smile, look angry, excited and the fairly shallow range of emotions no doubt needed to persuade the commercial watching public that beer was the right choice.

Success beckoned me toward my second Latin American TV appearence (hopefully this time not requiring me to be dressed as a woman) and a couple of days later we were herded into a minibus and shot up to San Salvador with the promise of other, more lucrative jobs after this one ringing in our ears; finally, some money coming in.We were ejected, nine confused White faces in all, into the national football stadium and placed in the stands to await our filming slot where we were mixed with a range of other faces from sources other than the beach to create a splendid "racial rainbow". Somewhat accustomed to the extensive waiting due to some TV work in the UK, I accepted the fairly glacial pace at which the other scenes were being filmed in sequence, all rather strangely with green screen backing, this mitigating the need to be in a football stadium. Further distraction was provided by lunch surplus, a well proven measure to neutralize me in almost any situation, and a couple of our number being comically daubed with thick face paints by makeup.

Night fell and still no promise of filming, when the national football squad turned up for training for the upcoming international against Costa Rica. When all the excitement had died down, which included our resident Argentinian invading the pitch and persuading the national coach to cross him a ball so that he could score a goal, we were cast out of the stadium so as no to betray the tactics to any Costa Ricans, delaying any filming for another two hours. Luckily, dinner was provided, and temporary peace ensued.Let back into a pitch black stadium at 11 at night, the crew and a selection of the native cast disappeared to the parking lot to film scenes, once again infront of a green screen (begging two questions; firstly, why did they not cut costs and shoot the whole thing this way and, secondly, what prevented them from filming in the carpark while the training was going on?) as we sat in darkness, waiting unattended, doubts beginning to creep into collective minds as to the possibility of anything happening.

Surely enough, after two and a half hours in solitary stadium confinement, an underling arrived to deliver some bad news. "We can't film your sections tonight," she briskly explained, "you'll have to come back tomorrow and do it then. We'll pick you up at eight."A fairly predictable backlash erupted from the assembled extras, some of whom had been sporting now very itchy face paint for about seven hours and others who had life commitments for the following day. This augmented considerably when told, in addition, that we would not be paid anything extra for the subsequent day (of mystery duration) and they would not pay us anything until completion of the commercial until tomorrow. So evolved a mighty struggle between the underling, constantly on and off their mobile phones to higher powers, proposing a series of roundly rejected alternatives until finally, after an hour and a half of negotiation that included sitting on the bonnet of the underling's car so that she couldn't drive off and refusing to get in the minibus which subsequently and dramatically did a u-turn to leave and then stopped, an agreement was forged that we would be paid $50 for a full day's work the next day and would recieve our pay for the day before leaving on the condition that we promised to return. As this was the only way to recieve money and it was now three o' clock in the morning, all and sundry agreed, pocketing the cash and internally vowing never to work with El Salvadorian production again.

Dulce was dealt an unpleasant hand the next morning when everyone except Yuji, the resident Japanese of the hostel (who is, with all due respect, a complete law into himself), refused to return on the basis that we had been kept up until 4am, had been bullied into an agreement to do a full day's work for half price and had argued bitterly to get paid. As I watched my TV career drag itself into the distance (my face had not been committed to a single frame) along with any possibility of future work, I couldn't help feeling slightly guilty about my dishonesty, until subsequent research revealed that our El Salvadorian counterparts would not recieve payment for months (if at all), furthering justification that an outright lie of returning was adeqate measure given the circumstances.

El Tunco, El Salvador
7th Sept 2009

Taking Corporate Mascots to the Next Level

Those of you aware of the loathsome cut price pharmacy chain Farmacias Similares will no doubt be aware of their cheerful quack mascot, Doctor Simi. In times ruled by the mobile phone camera and the tatty/glorious output of YouTube, the marketing geniuses of this company have decided to employ dispensing employees who have a natural affinity for dance and are willing to showcase their talents in the heat of the day inside a vast costume outside the numerous widespread stores that litter Mexico.

My first acquaintance with him was on the town square of Chiapa de Corzo to the sound of pounding techno music and I have long tried to capture the results on video, but a quick search of YouTube yields far more entertaining results, including the "anti-corporate" bunch of Mexican teenagers who have taken great delight in public mobbings of the cheerful (but now slightly wary) face of cheap dubious medical consultations.



Chiapa de Corzo
19th April 2009

The Confusing Business of Doing Good

In the quest to make a professional name for myself out in these foreign climes under the umbrella of Fair Trade, I've had to come to terms with an unexpected barrier in the path of my progress; the variety of certifications available for consumer products (which consumers are, naturally, supposed to recognise and differentiate). A case in point are two recent heavyweight certification events; the crossing over of Cadbury to Fairtrade for it's Dairy Milk bar and the Mars Inc. commitment to The Rainforest Alliance for it's Galaxy chocolate bars.

So what are the difference between these two different organisations? Surely any commitment to certification standards by a mutli-national is good news? Well, fundamentally it depends on what you percieve as important in the inclusion of the standards that the Mars's and Caburys of this world are supposed to follow.

In a sentence (for those members of the social networking revolution with dwindling attention spans that can be measured only in nanoseconds) and in the case in point of Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance the following differences in focus of accreditation are;

Fairtrade addresses the trading system, ensuring that producers receive a minimum price for their coffee plus a premium for investment in community projects.

Rainforest Alliance aims to cover aspects of sustainable agriculture: environment, rights and welfare of workers and the interests of local communities.

Another important factor to consider the factor of consumer recognition and relationship with these various different badges that are stamped on products; certified coffee appears relatively expensive because of the use of conventional coffee in some countries as loss leaders with substantial discounts. This is a significant barrier to expansion of certified coffee. Where discounts are not used, it is very difficult in many cases for consumers to compare prices on a rational basis because so little information is given on the origins and quality of the mainstream coffee brands. There is so much variation in the price of coffee, depending on the brand and the outlet.

Despite setbacks, consumer awareness of certification seems to be high and growing, and can only get better with the big league commitments shown over the last couple of months. However, factors also have to be considered of the certification bodies to maintain standards under a rapidly expanding remit of certified producers and their ability to monitor and enforce required best practise; a tricky balancing act with resources stretched thin by the momentum of growth.

All in all, an exciting time for ethical international business, and an especially exciting time for chaps wishing to roll up their sleeves abroad and get jolly well stuck in.


Puerto Escondido
9th April 2009

Latin American Brands I Love: Sol

The staple diet for Fiesta de Enero (aside from tacos and churros) is the mighty Michelada. The principal purveyor of these skull splitting Mexican versions of the bloody mary is Sol; I knew about Sol before I departed the UK, but it is here in their native setting that the company truly comes into their own.

Unconstrained by the scruples of the diverse range of regulatory bodies in England, Sol gleefully uses the simple but incredibly effective method of association with scantily clad women with large breasts to flog its wares. Another of their specialities is paying lip service to drinking responsibility with superb irony. A couple of nights ago I noticed the warning message below; for reference I´ve also included a picture of one of these mighty cups in use. For the uninitiated, "Evita El Exceso" translates to "Avoid Excess".



Chiapas De Corzo
20th January 2009