Commenting on University of Reading student Maha Khan’s chocolate bar, made with 100% UK ingredients, Marina El-Hasni, Fairtrade Foundation Senior Sustainable Sourcing Manager for Cocoa says the story underlines a bigger challenge: “This British-made chocolate bar is a striking reminder that the future of much-loved foods like chocolate cannot be taken for granted. As Maha found out, chocolate is a really hard thing to make — and that is precisely why we cannot take the smallholder farmers overseas who grow cocoa for granted. Cocoa is highly sensitive to changes in…
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Fairtrade reinforces its commitment to human rights with updated policy
Fairtrade International has updated its Human Rights Remediation Policy, marking an important milestone in strengthening how human rights violations are addressed across Fairtrade supply chains. The updated policy was approved during Fairtrade’s General Assembly week held earlier this year. The Human Rights Remediation policy (formally known as the Act to Protect Policy) outlines Fairtrade’s approach to enabling effective remediation when human rights and environmental health and safety violations occur, while reinforcing the organisation’s long-standing commitment to respecting internationally recognised human rights. It builds on Fairtrade’s broader human rights commitment and…
Read MoreFairtrade calls for fairer and stronger due diligence laws in new position paper
Fairtrade has published a new position paper on mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) calling on policymakers to ensure that emerging regulations deliver meaningful benefits for farmers, workers, and the environment across global supply chains. As more governments around the world introduce due diligence legislation, Fairtrade welcomes efforts to hold businesses accountable for human rights and environmental impacts. However, poorly designed rules could unintentionally increase pressure on the very people they aim to protect. “If laws impose demands on smallholder farmers without providing the financial and technical means…
Read MoreFairtrade launches Public Consultation for Standards Evolution Project
Fairtrade International has officially launched the public consultation for its Standards Evolution Project inviting producer organisations, businesses, and partners around the world to help shape the future of Fairtrade Standards. The consultation marks a major milestone in Fairtrade’s multi-year initiative to modernize and strengthen its standards in response to growing global challenges, including climate change, rising production costs, widening social inequalities, and increasingly complex human rights and environmental regulations. As part of Fairtrade’s standard review process for changes in Standards, Fairtrade has published a consultation document with the proposed changes.…
Read MoreHelp shape Fairtrade’s Add-on Standard for Advancing Farmer Livelihoods
Public consultation open from 16 July to 15 August Living income has long been at the heart of Fairtrade’s mission. Across our work with farmers, companies and partners, we know that supporting farming households to improve their incomes is essential to creating resilient supply chains, reducing poverty and delivering lasting impact. Today, many companies are looking for credible ways to accelerate progress in this area. To support this ambition, Fairtrade International is developing an Add-on Standard for Advancing Farmer Livelihoods. This is an important next step that provides a harmonised…
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