Loughborough is a Fairtrade accredited campus. This means that the University and the Students' Union have joint accreditation and must adhere to several standards, such as availability of Fairtrade products in on-campus outlets and provision of education about what Fairtrade means.
Find out more:
What is Fairtrade and what's the Mark about?
Fairtrade is a label attached to products that meet the
very strict and specific criteria set by the
Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). These criteria aim to help communities of small-scale farmers in the majority world with
social, economic, and environmental development. For example, this means ensuring that producers and traders of Fairtrade products are given a
fair wage / price for their goods and a
premium to be invested in community development and that
minimum environmental standards are adhered to in the production of goods. For more generic information about the standards, click
here, or see
below for links to the current official standards for producers and traders.
Products that meet the standards outlined above (as independently certified by
FLO-CERT GMBH), are eligible to carry the international
Fairtrade Mark (seen at the top of the page). There are more than 20 different labelling organisations across the world that facilitate the licensing of this Mark, and there are even a few different marks in use across the world, though the international one is slowly becoming the standard to use.
The UK has had three different marks already:
The US still uses yet another mark:
In the UK, the licensing organisation is the
Fairtrade Foundation. This is the only organisation that can license the Fairtrade Mark to products sold in the UK.
The Fairtrade Mark is the only independently verified guarantee that consumers have that a product lives up to the standards set by the FLO. However, shopping ethically is not quite as simple as just following the mark...
What is the difference between Fairtrade and 'Fair Trade' or 'fairly traded'?
It's a jungle out there! Whenever you buy a product in your average high street shop or supermarket, you'll inevitably come across pretty explanations of how well workers, farmers, and shop assistants are treated, how much they are getting paid, and how much good care your product has been subject to on its journey to you, the consumer. These explanations will often include words like 'living wage', 'Fair Trade', 'ethically traded', etc. A quick, generic piece of advice: Don't trust a word of it! It is very difficult to discern whether a product really is 'ethically traded' as a company may insist, unless you have an independent body auditing every step the product makes to get to you.
However, there are some exceptions (of course)...
WFTO, the World Fair Trade Organization (see label on the left), is a network of Fair Trade organisations from across the globe. Just like the FLO, IFAT has its own set of guidelines (see link at the
bottom of the page) that an organisation has to follow to become a member and be allowed to display the label. Members range from banking institutes and aid agencies to charitable trusts and food manufacturers. The tricky thing about IFAT is that not all members display the label prominently, and it certainly isn't displayed on any products. However, you can do a search
here if you want to find organisations, in the UK for example, that are part of IFAT. With this list in hand, you should be able to do your shopping with a clear conscience.
One interesting member of IFAT is
BAFTS, the British Association for Fair Trade Shops. These shops operate under the IFAT standards as well. Unfortunately, there is no shop in Loughborough, but there is one in Melton Mowbray, Leics, and Melbourne, Derbyshire; there-and-back could be a nice cycle ride for an otherwise empty Saturday. Use this
search engine on the BAFTS website to see where other shops are located.
Finally, there is an independent organisation called Ethical Junction that has compiled a
directory of organisations that are 'ethical'. Their
guidelines for inclusion are not as detailed as those of IFAT or FLO, but if what you're looking for isn't covered by IFAT or FLO, this may not be a bad option.
- As I said, it's a jungle! If you have any questions at all about what products / shops / companies might or might not be operating under ethical trading principles, please do let us know by emailing us: eande@lufbra.net . Also, if you think there are other labels or organisations that should be mentioned here or things that are missing, please do let us know.
What does 'Fairtrade accredited' mean?
Ok, so back to Fairtrade (the Mark at the top of the page). What does it mean that our campus is accredited? Without going into too many details, it basically means that the University (through imago services) and the Union have
agreed to follow certain standards set by the Fairtrade Foundation and that we as a campus have to verify our adherence and improvements every year. The basic standards are as follows: The campus has a
Fairtrade policy and a
Fairtrade Steering Group (this is led by imago, and the E&E Officer is the Union's representative),
Fairtrade products are sold in shops, catering outlets, and served at meetings, and the campus as a whole is
educated about Fairtrade and encouraged to buy Fairtrade products (details of the goals can be found
here).
One thing to note is that Loughborough College or the RNIB are not yet accredited. The campaign for accreditation is slowly getting kicked off at the college. If you'd like to be part of it, send an email to
eande@lufbra.net .
What's going on around campus?
The campaign for Loughborough to become a Fairtrade University started in 1998 and culminated in the accreditation award in the spring of 2005. We were the first University in Leicestershire to achieve this. At the moment,
more than 70 Universities and colleges around the UK are accredited. For more information about the history of the campaign, have a look at
this document, which was written up by LSU E&E Officer '04 - '05, Jen Marsden.
Currently, the
Fairtrade Steering Group mentioned above meets once a month to brainstorm new ideas for how to keep the campaign going on campus.
Fairtrade Fortnight, a national event held in late February and early March, is always marked on campus. Click
here for a brief summary of the events that went on during Fairtrade Fortnight 2008 and for a longer story on what went on in 2009, click
here. Click
here for more information about FF 2010. Throughout the year, other Fairtrade related events are also held, including film screenings (October 2008:
Black Gold -- click for pictures) and a
Fairtrade Fashion Show during E&E Week 2008-9 in the spring.
As required by the Fairtrade Foundation's goals, Fairtrade products are available in all shops around campus, both those run by imago and those run by the Union. At the moment, items available range from
orange juice and the ever popular
Divine chocolate to
ice cream and the more exotic
Lufbra-customised organic Pants to Poverty. There are also a number of
Epona 'Loughborough University' hoodies, shorts and joggers available.
Finally, there are two
Fairtrade stalls that rumble through the
EHB atrium on a regular basis. They are usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays, but for the exact dates, check the
student and
staff noticeboards on the University's website.
What about our local community?
We happen to be simply surrounded by Fairtrade where we are.
Charnwood Borough 
is also Fairtrade accredited. This means more or less the same as it does for our campus.
CAFF, Charnwood Action for Fairtrade, is Charnwood's 'Steering Group', made up of local volunteers, including the LSU E&E Officer. It organises the annual Fairtrade Christmas Market in town and various other events throughout the year and makes sure Charnwood's Fairtrade Borough status is retained each year. Get in touch (
eande@lufbra.net) if you want to attend any of their monthly meetings.
What Fairtrade products are available and where can I buy them?
There are only certain products that can receive the Fairtrade Mark. Each time a new product is considered, a new set of standards is written up that are specifically relevant to that item. In the UK, many different items can receive the Mark, including clothing, footballs, flowers and various foods. For a list of products available in the UK, have a look at this handy
search function on the Fairtrade Foundation website.
In Loughborough, there are a number of different shops and cafes that have Fairtrade products available. CAFF has produced a flyer that
lists all outlets in the local area that carry Fairtrade products. Click
here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Why should I care about all of this?
- Many of the world's problems come from a basic lack of equality amongst people. The trade laws in place between the 'developed' world and the 'developing' world are skewed in favour of 'us'. EU farm subsidies, to take an example, make it much cheaper to produce certain crops in the UK than it would be in other countries. It gives the 'developed' world the edge on the exports market. This means that 'un-Fairtrade' often ends up meaning child labour, seven-day work weeks, unhygienic workplaces and lots of cut corners that impact on the health and safety of workers.
Fairtrade isn't the whole answer to the problems in the world, but it is a start. Since many Fairtrade producers work in co-operatives, it is an empowerment of people to allow them to rid themselves of dependency on foreign aid and support. By continuing to increase the amount of Fairtrade products we purchase and at the same time lobbying our politicians for Trade Justice (see below), we are starting to take some steps in the right direction.
Where can I go for more information and to take action?
The main resource for UK relevant information about Fairtrade is the Fairtrade Foundation:
www.fairtrade.org.uk.
To
take action, have a look at this
Trade Justice page at the Fairtrade Foundation.
Or, you can come to some of our upcoming Fairtrade events (schedule is
here) and pick up some of
these cards to send to your local shops.
For local on-campus action, send us an email (see below) if you've got ideas for how we can spread the word even further across campus, if you'd like to help out with Fairtrade Fortnight events, or if you've just got a specific Fairtrade item you'd like to see either imago's outlets or the Union shops offer.
You might also be interested in checking out the University's sustainability pages for more info and links! www.lboro.ac.uk/sustainability
Any questions or comments about this page, specific products or manufactures, or anything else on here, please send them to us at
eande@lufbra.net