Our choices as consumers and producers determine the type of world we live in. When we choose fair trade products, we are also betting on a fairer world. This is considered by the Fairtrade-Fair Trade Association, which recently launched the "I have the power" awareness campaign.
"With this initiative, what we want is to draw attention to the power we have when it comes to making consumer decisions, " Gudrun Schlopker, head of communication for the Fairtrade-Fair Trade Association in Spain, explains to Positive News. "For this campaign we wanted a motto that had to do with power, since Fairtrade certification revolves around empowerment, which is at the heart of the work we do with the southern producers, " he adds.
According to Schlopker, thanks to certifications such as those of the Fairtrade Seal, "it has been possible to increase sales of fair trade products in the North, as well as a greater entry into the market of producers in the South." These producers thus obtain greater control, and therefore, greater power over their own businesses.
The Fairtrade Seal guarantees that producers and traders have met the standards of this international organization dedicated to fair trade. These standards recognize both that environmentally sustainable production criteria have been followed, as well as the fulfillment of decent working and salary conditions for producers.
“In Fairtrade, not only the quality of the certification of the products is controlled, but also the objectives of social and economic progress set by the producers themselves within the framework of our standards. These objectives are regularly audited to ensure compliance, ”notes Schlopker. In this way, certification is a tool to participate in fair trade, and empower itself through it.
I have the power, I don't forget, in addition to the role played by the consumer, who also gains more power through fair trade, since it It allows you to reduce poverty through your daily buying choices. The campaign articulates several possibilities for participation for those who want to commit themselves beyond their consumption decisions.
This initiative also tries to involve stores, catering establishments and hotels that already offer fair trade products, and encourages the introduction of these products to those who still do not have this possibility. Corporate social responsibility departments of companies are other actors called to participate in I have the power .
CONTACT INFORMATION:
http://www.sellocomerciojusto.org
http://www.facebook.com/yotengoelpoder
Image: Various logos of the campaign. Courtesy of the Fairtrade-Fair Trade Association.
