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Fairtrade to Seek $91 Million From G8 to Aid Ethical Brand
By Andrew Bounds in Brussels
Published: May 26 2005 03:00 | Last updated: May 26 2005 03:00
Bono buys it. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin too. Now leaders of the world's richest countries are being asked to invest in Fairtrade by setting up a €72m ($91m) fund to boost the fast-growing ethical brand.
The coalition of charities and faith groups that own the not-for-profit company is to present the proposal to the G8 summit in Scotland in July, claiming it is a proven way to reduce poverty.
They will use a Mori opinion poll showing public recognition of the Fairtrade mark, which guarantees minimum labour standards and prices for producers in 60 countries, rose to more than 50 per cent in the UK last year, double that of two years ago.
More than a third of British shoppers buy Fairtrade goods.
Global sales in the 20 countries where Fairtrade products are available grew by a third to more than $500m last year, according to unpublished figures.
"Fairtrade has a good track record. We need seed capital to spread it and the poll shows that is what the public wants," said Harriet Lamb, head of the Fairtrade Foundation in London. "Governments should listen to the consumer."
Several governments, such as the UK and Germany, provide subsidies for Fairtrade but the organisation's long-term aim is to become self-financing, as is already the case of Fairtrade in Switzerland. There, the company's costs are completely covered by licence fees for use of the brand by other retailers.
The fund is part of a package of poverty reduction measures sought by Make Poverty History, a global charity coalition.
Campaigners met Peter Mandelson, European trade commissioner, yesterday to ask for his support. He remains close to Tony Blair, the UK prime minister who is chairing the G8 this year, and has called for a G8 "aid for trade" push.
The UK Commission for Africa, whose work forms much of the basis for the summit, called for increased funding of Fairtrade to build capacity to access global markets.
One model for G8 support to Fairtrade could be the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an intergovernmental fund conceived at a G8 summit in 2000.
"It is the G8's baby," said Dr Richard Feachem, the executive director of the Global Fund, which distributes grants to health charities.
Fairtrade says its proposed fund would, over five years, increase the number of producers from 1m to 10m, lift sales to $10bn, and extend labelling to 35 countries, including those in the developing world. It would also extend product lines, which have already gone beyond foodstuffs, to wine, beer and footballs.
--FT.com
By Andrew Bounds in Brussels
Published: May 26 2005 03:00 | Last updated: May 26 2005 03:00
Bono buys it. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin too. Now leaders of the world's richest countries are being asked to invest in Fairtrade by setting up a €72m ($91m) fund to boost the fast-growing ethical brand.
The coalition of charities and faith groups that own the not-for-profit company is to present the proposal to the G8 summit in Scotland in July, claiming it is a proven way to reduce poverty.
They will use a Mori opinion poll showing public recognition of the Fairtrade mark, which guarantees minimum labour standards and prices for producers in 60 countries, rose to more than 50 per cent in the UK last year, double that of two years ago.
More than a third of British shoppers buy Fairtrade goods.
Global sales in the 20 countries where Fairtrade products are available grew by a third to more than $500m last year, according to unpublished figures.
"Fairtrade has a good track record. We need seed capital to spread it and the poll shows that is what the public wants," said Harriet Lamb, head of the Fairtrade Foundation in London. "Governments should listen to the consumer."
Several governments, such as the UK and Germany, provide subsidies for Fairtrade but the organisation's long-term aim is to become self-financing, as is already the case of Fairtrade in Switzerland. There, the company's costs are completely covered by licence fees for use of the brand by other retailers.
The fund is part of a package of poverty reduction measures sought by Make Poverty History, a global charity coalition.
Campaigners met Peter Mandelson, European trade commissioner, yesterday to ask for his support. He remains close to Tony Blair, the UK prime minister who is chairing the G8 this year, and has called for a G8 "aid for trade" push.
The UK Commission for Africa, whose work forms much of the basis for the summit, called for increased funding of Fairtrade to build capacity to access global markets.
One model for G8 support to Fairtrade could be the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an intergovernmental fund conceived at a G8 summit in 2000.
"It is the G8's baby," said Dr Richard Feachem, the executive director of the Global Fund, which distributes grants to health charities.
Fairtrade says its proposed fund would, over five years, increase the number of producers from 1m to 10m, lift sales to $10bn, and extend labelling to 35 countries, including those in the developing world. It would also extend product lines, which have already gone beyond foodstuffs, to wine, beer and footballs.
--FT.com
