Mention the word Fairtrade and we immediately think of food, coffee, tea, bananas etc but now further developments are taking place with other vital commodities and one of the most exciting is cotton.

          The programme for the purchase of Fairtrade cotton and cotton products only started in this country in November 2005 and within the first year the total retail value was £6 million pounds. Last year there was a fantastic increase to £45 million. Major high street brands are making growing commitments to use Fairtrade cotton. This includes Top Shop, Next, Debenhams, Tesco, Sainsburys, House of Fraser, Monsoon, Marks and Spencers and many individual boutiques. Now over 1000 different cotton products are produced. Despite the rapid growth of sales this still only accounts for 1% of cotton sold in the UK

          As many as 100 million rural households globally are involved in cotton production with small-scale cotton farmers especially vulnerable to exploitation and injustice from international trade rules. Cotton prices are unstable and in decline thanks to the dumping of cheap subsidised cotton on world markets. The Industries high use of chemical pesticides is harming agricultural communities and the environment. Traditional food irrigation is depleting rivers lakes and water tables making water a scarce commodity for many cotton growing communities.

          Fairtrade certification brings farmers the guarantee of a fair and stable price plus a further premium to be used for community development projects. Fairtrade provides a positive alternative to thousands of cotton farmers in countries as widespread as Senegal, Bukino Faso,Cameroon and Mali in West Africa and also India  Peru and Egypt.

          The benefits from the sale of Fairtrade certified cotton to a country such as Cameroon has been enormous. 320,000 farmers are involved in cotton production but only 10% is of Fairtrade origin. Cotton is purchased at 20p per kilo compared to 27p per Kilo for Fairtrade cotton. Apart from the increased payment directly to the farmers over the last 2 years £422,000 has been paid as the community premium. This money has seen the provision of wells providing clean water,the empowerment of women  who are paid the same  as the men for cotton grown on their own land. Grinders have been purchased making the provision of good quality raw cotton a much easier task. Plans are ahead for future use of this premium by the building of a school, purchase of desks, chairs, paper, pens etc. Each community makes their own decisions about the use of the premium but it must be used for the benefit of everyone and approved by Fairtrade. In Mali farmers have funded the building of storage units for cotton and grain enabling them to safely store food all year round and better control the sale of cotton over the seasons, bringing them a more consistent income, others have developed basic health care programmes for themselves and their children.

          Do please when shopping consider looking for the Fairtrade Logo. It will mean that you are not only purchasing a good quality product but you are also doing your bit to assist the poorer parts of our world. Many products are very reasonably priced and for example you can purchase a T shirt for £5. However, it is possible to purchase a uniquely crafted garment for some special occasion which has a real wow factor which could be a real talking point. More about that in our next article

Alison Dunne on behalf of Pickering Fairtrade Group.

Pickering Fairtrade Town Campaign AGM Wednesday 8th October 7.30 URC room.
Speaker Jeremy Piercy of Shared Earth York (FairTrade Shop). Everyone invited.