Over 400, 000 thousand small-scale producers and workers in Kenya will benefit from fairer terms of trade following the launch of the International Fair Trade Charter.
The charter, recognised by policy makers, business leaders, citizens and consumers in Nairobi, sets down the fundamental values of Fair Trade, and seeks to highlight Fair Trade’s longstanding role in addressing challenges such as inequality, gender rights, climate change, child and forced labour and unfair trading conditions defining a common vision towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Charter, initiated by Fairtrade International and the World Fair Trade Organization, defines new models that build a stronger economy and environment for all. It is a document that not only brings the Fair Trade Movement together, but also presents the hope and vision of Fair Trade as a solution and viable alternative to a global economy that is driving inequality, poverty and ecological crisis.
According to the Oxfam 2017 Inequality Report to Davos World Economic Forum, small-scale producers and workers face many barriers to securing their fair share of the gains of trade.
Trade liberalisation has not delivered its promise of poverty reduction. Farmers are still grappling with limited access to markets, unfair prices, unsafe working conditions, fragile economies, climate change and imbalances of power in supply chains in which many markets are dominated by a handful of firms.
Speaking during the launch of the charter, Fairtrade Executive Director Nyagoy Nyong'o said that even though global trade has grown tremendously in the last few decades, there still remains uneven distribution of its gains.
“Central to the International Fair Trade Charter is a common understanding that the benefits of global trade must be shared more equally across farmers, workers, companies and consumers. By supporting artisans, farmers and workers to build democratic organisations", she said.
The contribution of Fair Trade both in terms of economic, social and ecological impact remains significant across the world, in the region and in Kenya. In 2016 for example, Fair Trade Producers in Africa registered total Fair Trade sales of over Sh34 billion. In Kenya, the combined sales under Fair Trade were about Sh6.7 billion for the same period.