Fairtrade America launches third annual campaign highlighting its mission
pic fairtrade
Fairtrade America is set to mark Fairtrade month with launching its third annual campaign highlighting the value of consumers choosing its certified products, writes Neill Barston.
The movement has continued its mission to support agricultural communities around the world, including those within cocoa producing nations in West Africa.
Moreover, its latest campaign, ‘Choose Fairtrade. Choose the world you want.’ aims to drive broader awareness of how it has sought to drive change within supply chains.
Consequently, Fairtrade America and National Co+op Grocers (NCG) are closing the gap between American shoppers and the nearly 2 million farmers in its schemes and workers around the world through new murals in three major U.S. cities – Atlanta, Milwaukee and Portland.
The murals will connect the stories of the people who produce the goods we enjoy every day, like cocoa and tea, to the positive impacts of Fairtrade.
Now in its third year, this campaign brought inspiring murals to Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville and Tacoma in previous years.
Fairtrade America partnered with notable mural artists and key retailers in three major metropolitan cities where mural art is already a prominent part of the culture. This year, all three murals will feature women farmers and raise awareness of several key areas of impact for the global movement, including promoting gender equality and building resilience to climate change.
This campaign is more important than ever as farmers face inflation, worsening climate change and lingering effects of COVID-19. Without intervention, studies show by 2050 as much as 50% of the global surface area currently used for coffee farming may no longer be available, many cocoa growing regions will become too hot to grow cocoa and adverse climate conditions will trigger a drastic decline in banana yields.
“Now, more than ever, we must all do our part to prioritise a fairer deal for farmers,” said Kate Stritzinger, director of marketing & external relations, Fairtrade America. “With these stunning mural portraits of Fairtrade farmers, we hope to remind people across the U.S. that every trip to the grocery store is an extraordinary opportunity to choose the world you want. Business-leaders and shoppers alike have an incredible chance to choose a world where the people who grow the food we use and enjoy everyday, like cocoa, coffee and tea, get a fairer deal on their goods.”
Fairtrade is an alternative approach to trade based on partnership instead of exploitation, a partnership between those who grow our food and we who consume it. The producers featured in the murals represent millions of farmers in the Fairtrade system who produce their goods following the movement’s rigorous economic, social and environmental Standards.
Its model includes a Premium that farming organisations receive on top of the price of the product. Members vote to determine how the money is spent; typically investing in farm improvements or community programs such as increasing access to education or healthcare. In 2020, Fairtrade farming communities earned more than $204M in Fairtrade Premium in the top seven commodities alone.
Throughout October, consumers can participate in an online giveaway and learn more about Fairtrade at choosefairtrade.org.