What is direct fair trade?
Direct fair trade is an institutional arrangement designed to help producers in developing
countries to achieve better trading conditions.
Members of the fair trade movement advocate the payment of higher prices to exporters, as well as improved social and environmental standards.
The movement focuses in particular on commodities,
and products which are typically exported from developing countries to developed
countries, but also consumed in domestic markets, mostly coffee, cocoa, sugar, fresh
fruit, chocolate ,flowers and gold.
The movement seeks to promote greater equity in international trading partnerships through dialogue, transparency and respect.
It promotes sustainable development by offering better trading conditions and
securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers in developing countries.
Fair trade is grounded in core beliefs, such as that producers have the power to
express unity with consumers.
As per what you can read from above, the principles and philosophy are there and
we believe that lots of efforts are being put to maintain this goal.
To organize such action, the auditing, travelling, administration and follow up
has a high cost, cost which has to be paid by the customer and mainly by the
farmers, producers and suppliers to get approved, to be able to get the accreditation.
This cost is too huge for most producers, farmers and suppliers in developping
countries and underdevelopped countries, in addition most of them do not have the
capacity in terms of several factors to meet with the standards and requirements imposed
to get accreditated and we find it unfair. That is our reason of having decided to
build our own‘‘ Direct Fair Trade‘‘.
We are already trading and commercializing those products, we are already working
in direct relationship with the farmers and producers, we are already travelling to
those countries at our own cost to asset the productions, evaluate the quality, sharing
know-how, bringing our support, whether financial or knowledge. Therefore it is
already in our competence, to audit and judge the viabiltity of our farmers or
producers as to be worth being recognize and being worth earning a correct price for
their products, without having to require from them any financial compensation to be
accreditated, as it is already in our costs.
As for the extra-premium which is reverted to the farmers, we do not have to ask
extra-premium to the buyers to revert it to the farmer, we are already proposing to the
farmer a fair price, that is the price they are requesting to earn a proper living, we
simply do not crush their price and we give them what they ask for.
The way we do to give a fair price to the farmer and to give an acceptable price to the
end customers, we simply eliminate extra costs and intermediaries. We value and
promote no- packaging scheme to enter the Zero Waste as packaging represent
over 33% of a product cost.
We avoid too much intermediaries that is a chain is compose of the farmer, the producers, the exporter, the importer, the distributor, the chain distributor, the packer, the chain supply and the end buyer.
In our chain we try to maintain the farmer, the producer (producer can be also
exporter himself), the importer, the distributor and the end customer.
By eliminating some link of the chain we reduce the cost, which we can re-invest to the farmers and in the technologies and know-how for them to develop.
As it is not always possible to eliminate the link of the chain and to reduce the costs, that is the reason why with our Label of ‚‘direct fair trade‘‘ we hope that the customers will value the product and our incentive and pay the right price.
Supply chain side
- Grow and produce in respect of the surrounding nature, fauna and flora.
- No abuse of the land to fulfill excess demand, (no need to supply at any cost,
products can be diversified) there is no need of abusing the land and resources.
- Promote BIOTIC farming.
- Avoid pollution in the process of manufacturing the product.
- Use what is in the immediate environment to grow and produce.
- Honesty (no cheating in production quality to fulfill demands)
- Promote collectivity support and work.
- Produce in respect of the end consumer needs (food requirement and diet,
cultural requirements, religious requirement and health)
Buyers and consumers side
- Respect the product
- Pay the right price
- Respect and value the origin and culture where the product comes from
- Consume with frugality
- Prefer no packaging (zero waste) products or at least recyclable or reuseable
packaging.
