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Fairtrade bananas was a marketing initiative which focused on increasing the price paid to small banana growers and the wages of agricultural workers. This is not a commercial brand, but a marketing strategy. Fair trade is based on higher prices paid by consumers that allow an equitable distribution of gains from trade over the chain partners.[1]

There are many of organizations involved in producing fair trade bananas; for example, an organization called Banafair began importing uncertified/unlabeled fair trade bananas into Germany in the mid-1980s (from 500 to 1 000 tonnes annually). In 1997 Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) was established in Bonn, Germany to consolidate various labeling initiatives and establish worldwide standards for fair trade bananas. The first fair trade labelled bananas imported to Germany were by TransFair in April 1998.

Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International, (now renamed Fair Trade International), is a large importer whose bananas bear the International FairTrade Certification Mark. FLO-CERT is the international body that inspects the farms to ensure they meet the proper social and environmental according to Fair Trade international standards.

Global banana industry

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Five companies control about 80% of the conventional banana trade. This situation, plus the intervention of various governments, has kept the price paid to banana growers and wages to workers a small percentage of the supermarket price.[2][3] Examples of this effect are the banana wars; the formation of the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands Intl.); the Bananagate bribery scandal; military coups to establish and maintain banana republics.[4][5] There is ongoing industry conflict with unions.[6][7] In Colombia, banana companies have been known to get involved with paramilitaries that kill human rights activists and confrontations with labor unions. (see Paramilitarism in Colombia for more information.)[8]

Fair trade certification

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FLO has different standards for small banana farms and larger banana plantations. To be eligible to display a Fair Trade Certification Mark, small farmers must create a panel of both workers and management to determine the best use of the fair trade premiums. Revenues to banana farmers must be equally shared between the working members of the cooperative or association.

On larger plantations, the premiums can only be used for improving working and living conditions. Forced labor and labor of children under 16 years of age is prohibited, as is dangerous work. Young adults 16 years of age or older must not work so many hours that they have no time for education. Workers must be allowed to join a union, and be paid at least regional industry average or minimum wage.

Although fair trade banana workers’ wages are not significantly above industry averages, they receive wage related benefits which increase their overall livelihood. However, many small banana farmers barely make living wages themselves, and the restriction of premiums to community development projects may prevent them from covering basic living expenses.[9]

Environmental impacts

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The agricultural production of bananas on a large scale often uses more pesticides (and fungicides, fertilizers) than any other fresh fruit commodity.[10] Fair Trade banana production promotes sustainable farming practices,[11][12] but these result in a higher supermarket price which some consumers are willing to pay for ethical reasons.[13][14][15]

Research and discussion

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Because the banana trade is a large world-wide business, a number of studies have been carried out on various aspects of the fair trade banana market, including political ecology,[16] tariffs and quotas,[17] price competition,[18] organic growing,[19] and retail price wars.[20][21]

Fair trade certification programs have been criticized on several grounds. Griffiths has challenged the ethics of fair trade labels in the fair trade debate, and, in the Journal of Business Ethics, has pointed out instances in which negative research is not published and academics choose only successful coops or fair trade organizations for study.[22] In the Dominican Republic, Shreck found minimum pricing,[23] and exclusivity of certification worsened socioeconomic disparity within farming communities, and limited access for non-certified farmers to the market.[24] Furthermore, Shrek found that the standards of certification programs prioritized market interests over farmer rights and well-being.[25] Frank has argued that fair trade initiatives do not generally foster an empowering partnership between consumers and farmers.[26]

Foncho campaign

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The Fairtrade Foundation campaign 2014-2016 used Foncho (full name Albeiro Alfonso ‘Foncho’ Cantillo) a farmer from Cienaga, Colombia, and member of a Fairtrade-certified co-operative called Coobafiro as the face for a year long video campaign for schools, starting with a visit to the UK to appear at Fairtrade Fortnight.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ La Cruz, G. "The Contribution of Fair Trade Towards Market Access by Smallholder Banana Producers." Agro-Food Chains and Networks for Development, 14 (2006): 69-78.
  2. ^ Wiley, James. The Banana: Empires, Trade Wars, and Globalization. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2008. Print.
  3. ^ Doyle, Macdara. "Busting Banana Unions In Belize." Multinational Monitor 17.9 (1996): 27. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 11 May 2012
  4. ^ Washingtonpost.com: Clinton: Support for Guatemala Was Wrong
  5. ^ "Honduras: Military Coup Engineered By Two US Companies : Information Clearing House - ICH". Archived from the original on 2013-07-07. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  6. ^ "USLEAP: Justice in the Americas". Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum.
  7. ^ "Windward Islands Farmers' Association (WINFA)". Archived from the original on 2012-05-07. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  8. ^ "Chiquita Made a Killing From Colombia's Civil War | Pulitzer Center".
  9. ^ "Fairtrade bananas: A global assessment of impact" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  10. ^ Koeppel, Dan.Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World. New York: Hudson Street, 2008. Print.
  11. ^ Frundt, HenryJ. November 20–30, 2000. Toward a Hegemonic Resolution in the Banana Trade, International Political Science Review, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Apr., 2005), pp. 215-237
  12. ^ Shreck, A. "Resistance, Redistribution, and Power in the Fair Trade Banana Initiative." Agriculture and Human Values, 22.1 (2005): 17-29
  13. ^ Thøgersen, J. (2000), "Promoting green consumer behavior with eco-labels", paper presented at National Academy of Sciences/national Research Council Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change, Washington, DC, November 20–30, 2000.
  14. ^ Strong, C. (1996), "Features contributing to the growth of ethical consumerism: a preliminary investigation", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 14, pp. 5-13
  15. ^ Mahé, Thuriane. "Are Stated Preferences Confirmed by Purchasing Behaviours? the Case of Fair Trade-certified Bananas in Switzerland." Journal of Business Ethics, 92.Suppl 2 (2010): 301.
  16. ^ GROSSMAN, LS. "The Political Ecology of Banana Exports and Local Food-production in St-vincent, Eastern Caribbean." Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 83.2 (1993): 347-367.
  17. ^ Desombre, Elizabeth R. "Environmental harm as economic subsidy: New perspectives on the feasibility of trade sanctions for environmental protection". www.gmu.edu.
  18. ^ Moberg, M. "Fair Trade and Eastern Caribbean Banana Farmers: Rhetoric and Reality in the Anti-globalization Movement." Human Organization, 64.1 (2005): 4-15.
  19. ^ Vagneron, I, and S Roquigny. "Value Distribution in Conventional, Organic and Fair Trade Banana Chains in the Dominican Republic." Canadian Journal of Development Studies-revue Canadienne D Etudes Du Developpement, 32.3 (2011): 324-338.
  20. ^ Torgerson, AM. "Fair Trade Banana Production in the Windward Islands: Local Survival and Global Resistance." Agriculture and Human Values, 27.4 (2010): 475-487
  21. ^ Doward, Jamie (October 11, 2009). "UK supermarkets warned over banana price war". The Observer – via The Guardian.
  22. ^ Griffiths, Peter (2011-07-19). "Ethical objections to Fairtrade". Journal of Business Ethics. 105 (3): 357–373. doi:10.1007/s10551-011-0972-0.
  23. ^ Shreck, A. (2002b) Just bananas? A Fair Trade alternative for small-scale producers in the Dominican Republic. PhD Dissertation, Colorado State University
  24. ^ Shreck, A. "Just bananas? Fair Trade banana production in the Dominican Republic." International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 10 (2002) 11–21.
  25. ^ Shrek, Aimee (2006). "What Organic and Fair Trade Labels do not tell us: Towards a place based understanding of certification". International Journal of Consumer Studies. 30 (5): 498.
  26. ^ Frank, D. (2003) Where are the workers in consumer-worker alliances? Class dynamics and the history of consumer- labor campaigns. Politics and Society, 31, 363–379.
  27. ^ Amy Dawson for Metro Thursday 27 Feb 2014 Fairtrade bananas: Why we need to think green about our favourite fruit
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