Fair Trade Balloons?

	Fair Trade Balloons
	Will these ever be possible? Until those of us in the business know more about where the materials for our balloons come from we cannot hope to know the answer. We have to seek out basic information such as the location of rubber latex production and the nature of the agricultural practices involved. Of course the rubber used in toy balloons is only a tiny part of the millions of tons used each year to make car tires and rubber goods like condoms and rubber gloves. Therefore the idea of only using latex produced under Fair Trade conditions may seem a remote dream. However if a manufacturer could claim that their balloons were Fair Trade and environmentally friendly it would give them a genuine commercial advantage and of course the other household goods produced in the same factory would also benefit. For example a fashion trend in favour of Fair Trade condoms would be easy to initiate amongst the under-25's. Increasingly the better-off consumers in our society want to purchase goods that demonstrate that they have good taste and that they care about the environment. These goods command a premium price. Levi's new"eco-jeans" are very expensive! A Toyota Prius car costs from £17,500. High quality latex balloons are a premium product and customer demand is not essentially price-sensitive.

	The ‘Five Guarantees’ 1. The FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees farmers a fair and stable price for their products 2. The FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees extra income for farmers and estate workers to improve their lives. 3. The FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees a greater respect for the environment 4. The FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees small farmers a stronger position in world markets 5. The FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees a closer link between consumers and producers

	From the FairTrade website: Fairtrade standards for small farmers and workers
	The problems experienced by poor producers and workers in developing countries differ greatly from product to product. The majority of coffee and cocoa, for example, is grown by independent small farmers, working their own land and marketing their produce through a local co-operative. For these producers, receiving a fair price for their beans is more important than any other aspect of a fair trade. Most tea, however, is grown on estates. The concern for workers employed on tea plantations is fair wages and decent working conditions. To address this there are two sets of generic producer standards: * small farmers * workers on plantations and in factories The first set applies to smallholders organised in co-operatives or other organisations with a democratic, participative structure. The second set applies to organised workers, whose employers pay decent wages, guarantee the right to join trade unions and provide good housing when relevant. On plantations and in factories, minimum health and safety as well as environmental standards must be complied with, and no child or forced labour can occur. process requirements and trading standards As Fairtrade is also about development, the generic standards distinguish between minimum requirements which producers must meet to be certified Fairtrade. Process requirements also encourage producer organisations to continuously improve working conditions and product quality, to increase their environmental stability of their activities and to invest in the development of their organisations and the welfare of their producers/workers. Trading standards stipulate that traders must: * pay a price to producers that covers the costs of sustainable production and living; * pay a 'premium' that producers can invest in development; * make partial advance payments when requested by producers; * sign contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices.
	Producer standards cover developmental, employment and environmental factors; and for each of these there are minimum requirements that the producer organisation must meet in order to be certified, and process requirements that establish a framework for continuous improvement as the organisation starts to receive additional income from sales to the Fairtrade market. Trading standards define the minimum price that must be paid for products to qualify for Fairtrade certification, and also provide for transparent trading and payment terms that ensure the benefits to the producer are maximised. In order to achieve the developmental objectives of Fairtrade, the standards apply to producer organisations rather than to individual farms, and require that such organisations are: • Democratically run and accountable to their members • Capable of ensuring compliance with the minimum social and environmental criteria and to manage the process of ongoing improvement. • Able to manage the Fairtrade Investment Premium for the benefit of their members.