Category: News

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought:

17 June

Coinciding with the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (17 June), the State Fair Trade Coordinator (@CEComercioJusto) has published a report analysing the social and environmental impact of coffee cultivation.

The current model of the coffee is not sustainable either for the environment or for those who grow it. This report explains why the fair trade coffee is the most viable and sustainable alternative, both socially and environmentally.

25 million people in more than 80 countries are engaged in the cultivation of the second largest agricultural commodity after oil: coffee.

In addition, it is estimated that, due to lifestyle habits and the growth of the emerging economy, consumption will increase by 2050.

However, the current impact of climate change is altering coffee production: rising temperatures and varying rainfall could halve the area under cultivation by 2050.

Fair Trade is an alternative to combat the effects of this change, as this model consolidates traditional production and favours a better quality of life for producer families. To give an example: in Colombia, Fair Trade coffee has increased the income of more than sixty thousand people by 20%.

Changing the future is in our hands and that is why consuming Fair Trade is so important to bring about change and contribute to the environment.

In addition to caring for the environment, the Fair Trade has quality coffee with the authentic traditional taste, but sustainable.

You can read the full report on the coffee industry here:

http://comerciojusto.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Cuaderno-11-Impactos-caf%C3%A9.pdf

The "#" campaignTheUnescapeRoomlaunched by UNICEF opens our eyes to the terrible reality of child exploitation. It is in our hands to change this reality. The fair trade empowers us and makes us protagonists of this change. It guarantees that there is no child labour in the production of its products.

World Day Against Child Labour

12 June is World Day Against Child Labour. Millions of children around the world are engaged in some form of hazardous or exploitative work. Usually at the expense of their health and education and, above all, their general well-being and development.

In order to raise awareness about child exploitation, UNICEF Spanish Committee launched the "#" campaign.TheUnescapeRoom. With this social experiment, they want to put us in the shoes of children working in the most extreme conditions.

Fair trade is an effective tool to eradicate child labour. The eradication of child labour is one of its fundamental principles. Thus, it ensures that no child performs work that affects his or her physical, mental, social or spiritual development. And thus interfere with their education or have abusive, dangerous and harmful conditions that endanger their health and integrity.

UNICEF estimates that some 150 million children between the ages of 5 and 14, or nearly 1 in 6 children in this age group, are victims of child labour. According to the latest estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO). 7.4 million children in the same age group are engaged in domestic work. This is disproportionately carried out by girls.

We take this day as an opportunity to remember the power that each and every one of us has as consumers to improve reality, and how an everyday act such as choosing to buy becomes a transformative action.

Most consumers want to know more about the products they buy. 38% of consumers in major European markets consider the social and 37% the environmental impacts of their purchases when shopping.

On the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day today we share the results of a survey conducted by Fashion Revolution, as part of the European Trade Fair Live Fair project, which captures the attitudes of consumers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK to the social and environmental impact of the manufacture of clothing and accessories.

The project brings together 31 Fair Trade entities from across the EU, including the Coordinadora Estatal de Comercio Justo.

The results

The vast majority of the population thinks that clothing brands should publish which factories they use to make their garments, as well as the suppliers that provide them with materials for their garments. These are the main results of the Trade Fair Live Fair project:

• 39% of the surveyed population say that buying clothes made by workers who are paid a fair and living wage is the most important issue when it comes to consumption.
• 80% of respondents believe that clothing brands should disclose the identity of their manufacturers.
• The other most important issues for consumers are: environmental protection (37%), safe working conditions (37%), animal welfare (30%), local production (10%) and the use of recycled materials (6%).
• Consumers are also concerned about the long-term impact of brands, addressing global poverty (84%), climate change (85%) and gender inequality (77%).

In Spain

According to the Trade Fair Live Fair survey, 40% of consumers in Spain take into account the social impact before deciding to buy a garment and 42% take into account the environmental impact.

Furthermore, 37% of those surveyed believe that it is important that the clothes (including shoes and accessories) they buy are produced under safe working conditions.

Consultation here the full survey.

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