Article about the Fair Trade Drive
Nothing but Blue Skies Ahead for Vancouver's Fair Trade Drive
Munching on various goodies, the crowds move from table to table eagerly picking up chocolate and coffee samples. The spring sun is shining on the Stone Soup Festival at Grandview Park, an annual public event in celebration of springtime and sustainable food in the community. Live music and chatter blend into the background as folks chat with craft and food vendors, but many stop in mid-stroll when they notice a yellow street sign in the middle of the park. Visitors have arrived at a place called Fair Trade Drive (http://www.fairtradedrive.org), and a smiling Sean Osborne is there to greet them. Osborne, in a casual buttoned-up shirt, looks around happily at the crowd, many of them signing support forms for Fair Trade Drive and some taking samples of strawberries dipped in Fair Trade chocolate.
The birthplace of progressive organizations such as Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org/international/) and Adbusters (http://www.adbusters.org/home/), Vancouver is no stranger to initiatives that work towards social justice and environmental sustainability. Not surprisingly, it is here in this happening city where a citizen-led group is campaigning to put Commercial Drive on the map as the first Fair Trade Zone in North America. The launch of Fair Trade Drive on May 1 coincided with the weeks leading up to International Fair Trade Day, on May 14. Spearheading the Fair Trade Drive Committee, Osborne also owns the Fair Trade Chocolate Company (http://www.fairtradechocolatecompany.com/), an internet-based business headquartered on Commercial Drive. “Fair Trade companies are all about responding to the consumer demand for ethical practices in business” Osborne explains, “The idea that democracy is not reflecting the intentions and the values of an intelligent and concerned population has lead to cynicism and disinterest. Fair Trade builds on the notion that the only real democratic power left in the hands of the citizen is a capacity to vote with our money.”
It’s 1:53 pm. Between busily explaining about the Fair Trade Drive and answering questions, Osborne asks his son to run back and bring another box of chocolate dipped strawberries for the Saturday crowd. His table makes up one side of a rectangular stall underneath a deep green awning. On the left side is a display of crafts and gifts from Ten Thousand Villages (http://www.villages.ca/), and on the other side is a table of complimentary Fair Trade coffee and hot chocolate provided by Ethical Bean (http://www.ethicalbean.com/), a local Fair Trade coffee supplier. The coffee dispensers at the self-serve station are in constant need of refilling. A man, squeezing between a couple people, approaches the table and points at a Fair Trade chocolate bar displayed beneath the Fair Trade Drive street sign. “I want to buy that chocolate bar for my wife”, he announces. “She told me to pick one up for her.” “Sorry”, replies Osborne, “we’re not selling them today. But why don’t you take one with you, compliments of the Fair Trade Chocolate Company.”
With a surprised but appreciative grin, the man reaches for the transparent package, which clearly bears the Fair Trade logo. He grabs a couple of brochures about the Fair Trade Drive before heading off.
Osborne is happy that more and more people are aware of the impact of Fair Trade. The Coffee Association of Canada studies show that adult coffee drinkers’ awareness of Fair Trade coffee grew from 11% in 2001 to 17% in 2003. In Osborne’s case, he learned about the exploitative nature of the cocoa industry when he was researching chocolate prior to starting his business. After reading about the use of child labour and slavery to grow cocoa, he no longer wanted to sell chocolate. He tells about how he began his company: “I found myself in a moral quagmire. Then I did a Google search on Fair Trade and found an alternative. There weren’t any local Fair Trade chocolate businesses, so the Fair Trade Chocolate Company became the first and only BC-based Fair Trade Certified chocolate company.”
Fair Trade Drive is the pilot project for future Fair Trade Zones in North America. Sean, along with Co-founders of the Fair Trade Drive Committee Imogen Riley and Bruce Macdonald, is prototyping and documenting this progressive initiative. Explains Osborne, “If this project becomes successful, other regions in North America that are interested in establishing a Fair Trade Zone in their neighbourhoods would be able to access the Committee’s documentation and follow the Fair Trade Drive example here in Vancouver.”
The Fair Trade Drive Committee is trying hard to make this happen and has background experience in the field to help. Riley completed her doctoral dissertation on Fair Trade after visiting the world’s largest cocoa co-operative, Kuapa Kokoo, in Ghana. She approached Osborne to join him in his Fair Trade efforts and later told him about Fair Trade Zones in England. From then on, Riley, Osborne and Macdonald began to meet every weekend at JJ Bean’s to define what they wanted to accomplish as the Fair Trade Drive Committee. They are planning to work on Fair Trade educational material for outreach work in the community in the near future.
According to FLO International, global statistics show that 12,818 metric tons of labelled coffee was sold in 2000, which grew to 19,895 metric tons in 2003. In Canada, figures from TransFair Canada reveal that the volume of roasted Fair Trade Certified coffee sold grew from just over 150,000kg in 2000 to over 835,000kg in 2004. Estimated Canadian retail sales of Fair Trade Certified coffee was approximately $4.7M in 2000, which grew to just over $25M in 2004.
A week after the Stone Soup Festival was International Fair Trade Day. Tables were set up in front of various stores up and down Commercial Drive decked with Fair Trade products and information about Fair Trade Drive. Businesses including Ten Thousand Villages, SPUD, Dutch Girl and Sweet Cherubim displayed Fair Trade Certified chocolates, dried fruits and coffee among other products in celebration of Fair Trade, attracting numerous pedestrians along the Drive. Some by-passers recognized the Fair Trade Drive posters and were happy to say they had already signed a support sheet. Many others were interested to learn more about the initiative and also sign their names.
“I buy Fair Trade whenever I can”, an enthusiastic woman says. “But not every store carries Fair Trade products. It would be wonderful if Commercial Drive really becomes a Fair Trade Drive.” “We were just talking about how many people don’t believe that slavery still happens in this world”, another woman says, concerned. “Having a Fair Trade Drive is a great idea.” If the extraordinary turnout and responses to Fair Trade Drive at the Stone Soup Festival booth and the tables on International Fair Trade Day bear testament to how much our community cares for those living in poverty, this may be the opportune time for Vancouverites to do something to make a positive difference. It might be as simple as picking up a new brand of chocolate on the next grocery run or chatting to retailers about purchasing fairly.
~ Ada ChanFor more information, contact
FAIR TRADE DRIVE by email.