Fairtrade International, the world's most recognized social justice label, and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the joint agency of the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations, have announced an expanded partnership aimed at helping farmers and farm workers diversify and access new markets, achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and work toward the 2030 Agenda, the two organizations confirmed today.
The expanded partnership, the details of which are outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Sandra Uwera, CEO of Fairtrade Global, Renato Isella, CEO of Fairtrade Max Havelaar, and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of ITC, will now see the two organizations accelerate their work to promote greater sustainability.
It will oversee that farm workers around the world will be enabled to participate more fully in global trade. The collaboration will strengthen work in a number of areas, including farm diversification to enable farmers to adapt to increasing agricultural production.
A Beneficial Partnership that Advocates Sustainability
Fairtrade International and ITC have long collaborated on promoting ethical trade and advocating sustainability issues with key global stakeholders. In fact, in recent years the two international bodies have collaborated closely on a number of publications, as well as ITC's Sustainability Map, a unique benchmarking tool for voluntary sustainability standards. In addition, the two organizations have collaborated at the programmatic level on projects related to coffee and cocoa value chains in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Latin America.
The new Fairtrade and ITC agreement, building on this successful partnership, provides the framework for further collaboration as both organizations hope to expand their current sustainability efforts in the cocoa and coffee value chains, among others, and engage other trading partners and new stakeholders in public-private partnerships to address producers' sustainability priorities.
In addition to these planned efforts, the partnership will also support farmer organizations to access new national and international distribution channels for their products, enabling them to reach new markets and strengthen their finances. The partnership with Fairtrade ties in with one of ITC’s core tasks, which is to empower producers in developing countries to move up value chains, access new markets and earn higher incomes, and thereby live better lives.
ITC supports small and medium-sized enterprises based in developing and transitioning economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the framework of the Aid for Trade agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
About Fairtrade International
Fairtrade is an independent, non-profit organization representing nearly two million farmers and workers around the world. It owns the Fairtrade Mark, a registered trademark that appears on more than 30,000 products and is the world's most recognized and trusted sustainability label. Fairtrade International and its member organizations collaborate with businesses, engage buyers, activate civil society, and empower producers to take control for a just and sustainable future, a future rooted in social justice
Fairtrade’s sustainable standards ensure fair trading conditions between farmers and buyers, protecting workers' rights and providing the framework for producers to build more efficient and sustainable farms and thriving democratic organizations. These include: Fairtrade, Fairtrade Cotton, Fairtrade Cocoa, Fairtrade Textile Production, and Fairtrade Tea, to name a few.