Unravelling Fair Trade

Liz Cooper heads down the clothes line to find out more about fair trade in fashion.

Me in a Peul village in Eastern Senegal. Photograph by Liz Cooper. One of the products of Yakaar Niani Wulli – an organic fair trade cotton bag, (hand-spun and hand-woven cloth) dyed with natural indigo. Photograph by Liz Cooper Artisan recycling tin cans to create picture frames and trays, Dakar, Senegal. Photograph by Liz Cooper.

As a British fashion design graduate interested in fair trade and organic cotton I now find myself working in Senegal. I have witnessed the living working conditions of producers while working for a certified fair trade arts and crafts company, and have gained more in-depth understanding of organic cotton from collaborations with NGOs. Working at grassroots level has certainly been an eye-opener, and has brought up more questions than answers.

First of all, while working as a designer for an IFAT (International Fair Trade Association) certified arts and crafts company, I was slightly worried by the fact that a structure can be awarded and renew its fair trade certification simply by completing a (rather thorough, admittedly) self-evaluation form. This leaves room for inaccurate reporting of a company’s practices, and is not a procedure I was aware of as a fair trade consumer in the West. Fair trade labels have become fashionable, and may be used inappropriately if regulation and monitoring is not tight. Should the cost of sending qualified certifiers to organisations throughout the world be added to the retail price further increasing the difference compared to conventional products? Should fair trade certifiers search for further funding to be able to apply stricter regulations? Or is this procedure acceptable, since it reflects the need for fair trade to be open and inclusive, in order to attract more producers, exporters and vendors to adhere to the associated principles?

Secondly, after much discussion with local people, I ask myself whether the concept ‘fair trade’ has been explained to local producers involved. I am inclined to believe that the majority, whether artisans, cotton growers, or others, do not really understand what fair trade is, and what the advantages should be for them. The common understanding here in Senegal of the term ‘organic’ is that it simply means ‘natural’, as was the case in economically developed countries before the organic food revolution hit the supermarkets. Awareness-raising is needed at a larger scale in developing countries as well as in the West, as all consumers should be informed about their purchasing power – the possibility to affect production ethics through choice of product. Small-scale producers should know their rights. With regard to this I am involved in a process, initiated by the international NGO Enda Tiers Monde, based in Dakar, of rethinking fair trade certification in local/African terms. The aim is to produce a local fair trade label which is more reflective of African realities, in collaboration with small-scale producers at every step of the way.

We are also developing a range of organic fair trade textile products in the name of the rural association Yakaar Niani Wulli, involving transforming the certified cotton locally using ancient handicraft techniques. Rather than exporting the entire harvest of organic fair trade cotton to European transformers, who will then benefit from higher profits, the aim is to transform part of the cotton fibre locally. The concept is based on creating an entire fair trade organic chain, rather than only the cotton being ‘ethical’.

Groups of people in the villages are busy spinning, weaving, and dyeing the cotton (using natural indigo) by hand or using simple wooden tools. Participating in this project in my role as designer, pattern maker, and trainer (among others) has been enormously educational in terms of finding out how to be really fair to all producers and transformers, or as ‘fair’ as possible given certain cultural and economic realities. Cotton producers at present receive the price fixed by the certification body, which is higher than that for non-certified cotton. Transformers negotiate their own tariffs, yet we must make sure they are aware of the value of their own work and are not inhibited in speaking openly about money. Certain tasks are traditionally done by men (e.g. weaving and sewing together products with sewing machines), and others by women (e.g. spinning thread by hand, and dyeing cloth using plants). With regard to the time taken to complete these tasks, the men tend to be paid more than the women. It is difficult to completely restructure prices without disturbing the market for other actors in the chain, so we must address these imbalances little by little.

In conclusion, it is not easy for organisations, exporters, vendors etc. to live up to the real meaning of the label ‘fair’, but not impossible. I feel that there is still a long way to go in improving reliability of certification; in explaining to people in the economic South what they should really expect from participating in fair trade schemes; in ensuring fair production at every step of the way; and in promoting transformation by disadvantaged communities where possible rather than in the West. There are profits to be made for all (from ‘Southern’ producers and transformers to ‘Western’ marketing, labelling, and sales specialists), but it would be a step towards more ethical products if roles and wages were rethought