Annual report and financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2019
Message from the Chair
In his first full year as Chair of the Fairtrade Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Lord Mark Price reflects on the last year and the challenges ahead in 2020.
Lord Mark Price, Chair of the Fairtrade Foundation’s Board of Trustees
Over the past several months, the world has shifted seismically; and as we all find our societies changed, perhaps irrevocably, by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is my hope that together, in recognition of how interconnected we all are, we aim to rebuild a global community that is prosperous for all.
Certainly, that is what we at Fairtrade are focused on doing. We’re more galvanised than ever to do more to help the world’s most vulnerable left exposed by the outbreak – in all our societies and particularly in the global south. Those people who struggle to eat, who don’t have water or soap to protect themselves and can’t stay safe. Those who do not have a home nor the means to self-isolate and have had their already poor incomes devastated.
The Fairtrade movement has always spoken up for communities living on the sharp end of trade. As I reflect on 2019, our key campaigns challenged consumers, businesses and the government to recognise the crises facing farmers and take action to address the exploitation and injustices in the coffee and cocoa trades in particular.
Devastatingly in recent years, the conventional market has paid so little for these commodities that farmers cannot afford to live decent lives and many have abandoned farming – for example for much of 2019 the world coffee price was around $1.00 a pound, below the cost of sustainable production and below the Fairtrade Minimum Price of $1.40 a pound, a lifeline that protects Fairtrade farmers from the worst impacts of low pay. Our campaigns in 2019 highlighted what this means for the average cocoa farmer, who as a result earns less than 74p per day, and the 61 percent of coffee farmers who earn well below the cost of production.
Last year, we were also proud to mark 25 years since the first pioneering products bearing the iconic FAIRTRADE Mark hit our shelves in the UK. While we celebrated our achievements – particularly the 1.1 billion dollars in Premium generated over that time, which led to transformational changes for many communities – we also spoke about the scale of the challenges. The fact remains that we’re still unable to help every Fairtrade farmer achieve a living income because they aren’t currently selling enough of their produce to the Fairtrade market. Farmers only benefit from increased incomes from the Fairtrade market for a proportion of their harvests.
That said, Fairtrade farmers have some big supporters in retail and on the high street, and with brands sourcing ingredients and bringing out new products all the time. Thanks to them, many communities are gaining opportunities to thrive. But if they are to truly trade their way out of poverty, more businesses must source Fairtrade in greater volumes.
We know how much consumers care about the people who work hard to produce the food, clothes and everyday items we all rely on. Businesses are increasingly taking greater responsibility for the sustainability of their supply chains too, but if people aren’t paid fairly for what they do, they simply will be unable to survive – as we’ve seen starkly this year. That’s why we call on everyone who can, to buy more Fairtrade.
A living income should be a human right, but it is also an imperative in today’s world if we want to empower farmers and workers in the global south to be self-sufficient. It’s critical to redress inequality in trade, and the gender imbalance in particular that blights many communities, so that farmers and workers can respond to the significant challenges they face.
Trade injustice, exploitation and low prices perpetuate poverty. That’s why, as this report shows, Fairtrade has opportunities for programmes and partnerships with businesses and government departments such as DFID, to ensure more of the value of our everyday products gets back to the farmers and workers who worked hard to produce them. We’re also advocating proactively, with others in the trade justice movement, that Brexit becomes an opportunity to put in place trade deals that give countries an opportunity to add value in manufacturing, for example. Low or zero tariffs on processed products – such as roasted coffee beans – could enable them to do that.
The communities who rely on their land and provide us with everyday goods we want to keep consuming are also suffering the effects of climate change more than anyone else globally. We must enable them to invest in sustainable farming, and ensure they have the technology and resources needed to adapt – already through training and Premium investment Fairtrade is supporting the adaptation, but there is more to do as change continues.
A massive landslide destroyed the coffee gardens and houses of seven families who are members of Kopepi Ketiara Co-operative in Indonesia
At Fairtrade, we're more dedicated than ever to securing a better future for people in fragile supply chains, as today, millions of communities around the world are in crisis. That’s why we must call on all our supporters, and anyone reading this report, to do what you can to support us, and act now. Help us to support producers through this historic time. We need to show businesses how much demand there is for Fairtrade, and that means more campaigners need to speak up and amplify the voices of farmers and workers.
Next year, we’ll be launching a new strategy, which above all else will focus our efforts to call on businesses, our leaders and the public to understand why it’s critical that the people who produce our food are paid enough, and despite the global economic woes we’re all facing, why we must champion fair trade. It’s in all our interests, now and in the future.
Lord Mark Price, Chair of the Fairtrade Foundation’s Board of Trustees
Lord Mark Price, Chair of the Fairtrade Foundation’s Board of Trustees
A massive landslide destroyed the coffee gardens and houses of seven families who are members of Kopepi Ketiara Co-operative in Indonesia
A massive landslide destroyed the coffee gardens and houses of seven families who are members of Kopepi Ketiara Co-operative in Indonesia
Our vision, mission, objectives and activities
Our vision
Fairtrade’s vision is a world in which all producers can enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods, fulfil their potential and decide on their future.
Our mission
Our mission is to connect disadvantaged producers and consumers, promote fairer trading conditions and empower producers to combat poverty, strengthen their position and take more control over their lives.
Objectives and activities
We live in a world where too many farmers and their families are still going hungry, paid too little to afford healthcare or education for their children. We live in a world where workers toil in dangerous conditions, and exploitation is still rife. There are big issues like climate change to tackle. Our objectives are to fight poverty by changing trade, and to highlight the issues affecting farmers and workers across the world who work hard yet still struggle to survive. We elevate the voices of farmers, speaking truth to power. By choosing Fairtrade, shoppers, supporters, businesses, schools and campaigning groups have created change through their everyday actions. They have supported farming communities to feed their families, and fund ambulances, maternity clinics and health centres. Remote, marginalised communities now have infrastructure that didn’t exist before – schools, electricity and clean water.
To achieve our objectives, our activities include:
- Offering businesses and consumers a number of ways of engaging with Fairtrade. This includes licensing the use of the iconic FAIRTRADE Mark, and Fairtrade Sourced Ingredients, both of which are ways to source on Fairtrade terms. Meanwhile, our programmes and business partnerships support and offer expertise to companies, so they can play a greater role in transforming trade for the better.
- Using research to raise awareness of the challenges facing poor communities around the world. Sharing the evidence of what works to address the root causes of poverty and injustice in trade means we can mobilise community groups, politicians and businesses in the UK to redouble our efforts towards a fairer and more sustainable world.
- Working as part of an international movement. We are a member of Fairtrade International, which oversees, develops and regulates the international standards of certification that underpin Fairtrade and include the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Fairtrade Premium.
Achievements and performance
Our 2016 -2020 strategy
Changing Trade, Changing Lives:
Fairtrade Can, I Can
By 2020, we will have increased the volume of bananas, coffee, cocoa, tea and flowers sold on Fairtrade terms.
We will have increased the number of farmers and workers who benefit from programmatic work on climate change, gender, productivity and hired labour.
By 2020, we will have a brand that sparks an even greater emotional connection with citizens, consumers and supporters.
We will have built and strengthened alliances and coalitions with policymakers and the media to influence change, amplifying the voices of farmers and workers.
By 2020, we will have evolved from a single approach of certifying products to a portfolio of services.
We will increase the number of companies we work with that contribute to sustainable development in ways that really matter to farmers and workers, and which are accountable and transparent.
By 2020, we will have played a lead role internationally in becoming a simpler, more flexible, cost-effective movement.
Strengthening our networks at origin is of equal importance. Farmers and workers already own half the system – by 2020, they will have even more say in how Fairtrade is run.
Foreword by Michael Gidney, Chief Executive, Fairtrade Foundation
In many ways, 2019 was a landmark year for Fairtrade. Our sales and performance remained strong with some significant uplifts, despite further turbulence and uncertainty in the wider grocery market. For several categories, Fairtrade sales outperformed the market, and many showed above average purchase volumes – with relatively new categories such as flowers indicating dramatic growth of 12 percent over the year, at a time when the overall market declined by 14 percent. Fairtrade cocoa sales volumes also increased dramatically over the year with a 23 percent hike as various retailers and businesses upped their commitments to 100 percent Fairtrade sourcing, and shoppers showed their support for Fairtrade. Fairtrade coffee volumes also grew by three percent over the year, while other commodities such as bananas showed remarkable resilience to challenges with a slight decline of one percent against an overall market drop of over 6.5 percent as shoppers rallied behind the FAIRTRADE Mark. Fairtrade bananas represented 23 percent of the UK banana market in 2019, up from 21 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, developing Fairtrade categories of wine and gold both showed welcome increases – of 10 percent and 30 percent respectively – in volume sales over the year.
It was heartening to see shopper loyalty to Fairtrade surpass previous levels of support – with 76 percent of people saying they care about Fairtrade. The FAIRTRADE Mark enjoys an awareness level of 90 percent, but perhaps the most striking figure is that 82 percent of people say they trust Fairtrade to deliver a better deal for farmers and workers. This is an exceptionally high level of public confidence, and a mandate for increased action by all companies.
Vitally, Fairtrade sales and shopper support bring increased incomes for many farmers and workers through the Fairtrade Premium, the extra amount of money they receive on top of the Fairtrade Minimum Price. The Fairtrade Minimum Price is a safety net that only kicks in when market prices drop below it, meaning Fairtrade farmers will be better protected. The rest of the time, producers receive the market rate plus the Premium. This additional benefit is above any other certification system and unique to Fairtrade. When coupled with the protection of better prices, and Fairtrade’s training, support and programmatic work, farmers and workers are in a materially stronger position than they would otherwise be.
Awareness-raising campaigns are a crucial part of growing Fairtrade for producers. And our annual Fairtrade Fortnight campaign – which took place in February and March – ushered in a bold new direction. This year’s flagship national event saw the launch of our three-year campaign calling for cocoa farmers to earn a living income, highlighting the scandalous fact that cocoa farmers earn on average just 74p per day, far from the £1.86 they need for a sustainable income. The rallying campaign was called ‘She Deserves a Living Income’, focusing on women cocoa farmers, and Fairtrade supporters wholeheartedly lent their support.
For too long, cocoa has been controlled by men, even when the vast majority of work on cocoa farms is carried out by women. Slowly but surely, Fairtrade is helping to change that and women cocoa farmers are leading the way. I had the privilege of meeting one of them, Rosine, on her cocoa farm in Côte d’Ivoire, where she had recently graduated from Fairtrade’s Women’s School of Leadership. Rosine is an extraordinary entrepreneur, hugely knowledgeable about sustainable farming. Through the training she received, she increased the yields on her farm by 50 percent in her first year in Fairtrade. Rosine has also risen to lead her co-operative’s Women’s Society, as well as their diversification strategy: they now grow cassava and aubergines for the local market, as well as rearing chickens. Diversification is vitally important in mitigating risks for smallholders as well as ensuring food security for their families. But diversification costs money, which is why the Fairtrade Premium is such an important catalyst for change.
So it was fitting that Rosine should play a central role in Fairtrade Fortnight this year. We set up 'Rosine’s', a secret pop-up hot chocolate salon hidden behind a newsagent in London’s trendy Shoreditch, open for two weeks only. With hot chocolate recipes created by celebrities, news of the salon spread through word of mouth and social media, meaning custom was brisk. Fairtrade supporters across the UK also got involved, signing a petition, holding their own events and generally shouting about Fairtrade and the need for fairness for farmers. The hard work paid off – consumer research found that by year end, 80 percent of the UK public ‘care about farmers in developing countries getting a living income’ (Kantar TNS Q4 2019).
With Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 under our belt, by autumn it was time for another celebration as 2019 was the year the FAIRTRADE Mark turned 25. We called on all our friends to ‘Join the Party!’ at an event that saw partners, supporters and Fairtrade family from around the country and beyond join together to celebrate Fairtrade’s success. We reflected that over a quarter of a century, an estimated $1.1bn in Fairtrade Premium income on top of market earnings flowed to farmers and workers around the globe. Though celebration was in the air, so was the acknowledgement that the work we started all those years ago isn’t finished, and that there’s still a long way to go before farmers and workers all over the world are paid fairly.
Fairtrade’s anniversary provided the chance for some of our commercial partners to celebrate their commitment, including Cafédirect, the first certified Fairtrade coffee company. Through the Fairtrade Premium, Cafédirect have contributed £14 million to coffee co-operatives. Ben & Jerry’s marked the occasion with the launch of ‘Fairway to Heaven', a new ice cream flavour featuring Fairtrade vanilla, available exclusively through Co-op. Meanwhile, Clipper celebrated by featuring the FAIRTRADE Mark on their Everyday Organic 100 teabag packs.
It was good to reflect 25 years on, as more and more logos, standards and claims appear on products, that the FAIRTRADE Mark is recognised as the gold standard by which other certifications are judged. As Michael Fletcher, Chief Commercial Officer at Co-op, said: ‘Fairtrade remains the best and the only major independent global sustainability standard that puts people, price and power at the heart of what it does. That’s why through our Future of Food ambition 2030 we’re committed to Fairtrade and everything it stands for.’
From the past to the future, 2019 also saw the launch of the Fairphone 3, incorporating ethically sourced Fairtrade Gold in its electronics. And our programmatic work continued apace as we continued to develop deeper relationships with many companies and organisations in order to keep pushing forward.
But while there were many successes to celebrate in 2019, there are still too many farmers not selling on Fairtrade terms. And there are those we already work with who may not be able to sell all of what they grow as Fairtrade. For all of those farmers, we need greater engagement from companies, to buy Fairtrade, certainly, but also to step up to the social and environmental challenges in their supply chains. We need more shoppers to demand Fairtrade. We need governments to step in and say that unfair trade, where farmers and their communities remain in poverty despite working hard and supplying some of our favourite ingredients, is not acceptable. What we are asking for is ingrained in the British notion of self – a sense of fair play. It’s why we call for fair trade – and it’s why we’ve done all the following in 2019...
Michael Gidney, Chief Executive, Fairtrade Foundation
Michael Gidney, Chief Executive, Fairtrade Foundation
Secret entrance to Rosine's hot chocolate salon
Secret entrance to Rosine's hot chocolate salon
By 2020, we will have increased the volume of bananas, coffee, cocoa, tea and flowers sold on Fairtrade terms.
We will have increased the number of farmers and workers who benefit from programmatic work on climate change, gender, productivity and hired labour.
What we said we would do in 2019
- Focus on protecting and growing volume and benefits for our producers through close collaboration with targeted commercial partners
- Focus on securing research grants
- Focus on further embedding a sustainable public fundraising programme
- Continue measuring the impact of our work on the ground
Our key successes
Focus on Impact continued
Focus on securing research grants
In 2019, Fairtrade worked hard to secure research grants, and remains confident of longer-term success.
Focus on further embedding a sustainable public fundraising programme
2019 was a significant year for our public fundraising. Our total fundraised income grew by 97 percent on 2018.
Nearly half of that total was donated by Fairtrade Schools and Fairtrade community groups collecting donations, which grew by 25 percent on 2018, and 68 percent on 2017. The second major growth area in 2019 was major gifts of £5,000 or more as a result of cultivating relationships with donors looking to support Fairtrade. We’ll continue to grow this income stream and have earmarked these donations for exciting new projects to nurture and mobilise the next generation of Fairtrade supporters.
Campaigners in Haworth
Campaigners in Haworth
One major highlight of the year was the launch of an exciting new regular giving programme, created after detailed research, development and consultation with supporters. Regular donors of £8 a month or more now receive dedicated emails and a quarterly ‘Live Fair’ box containing product samples, information and tips for fair and sustainable living, along with information about how their donation supports Fairtrade. Initial interest resulted in over 450 sign-ups in the first three months of launch (September – November 2019). A portion of the income from the Live Fair programme in 2019-2020 will be allocated to Fairtrade Africa’s Growing Women in Coffee project.
Fairtrade Live Fair box
Fairtrade Live Fair box
Continue measuring the impact of our work on the ground
2019 saw important pieces of research that have helped with ongoing learning for Fairtrade, as well as supporting insights for key products. Evidence, research and feedback is vital to Fairtrade’s aim of improving farmer incomes and livelihoods.
The 2019 Producer Satisfaction Survey was a crucial tool to enable Fairtrade to understand better how producer organisations value the support provided by the producer networks, and any resulting actions. The responses showed that over 89 percent of Fairtrade producer organisations surveyed were satisfied with the activities of the producer networks CLAC (in South America) and NAPP (in Asia), including events such as exchange visits or producer network events.
Another landmark study was the Evaluation of Youth Inclusive Community-Based Monitoring and Remediation System on Child Labour (YICBMR) as implemented by the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA).
The study assessed how BSCFA established Fairtrade’s YICBMR, which aims to identify and respond to issues concerning child and youth wellbeing, including child labour. The approach was piloted by the organisation in 2015 and has since expanded to cover all of BSCFA’s sugar growing areas. The study found that BSCFA’s commitment and capacity to address child labour and other labour abuses in sugar cane production in Belize since 2014 was very high.
The YICBMR method was able to generate community-wide engagement to address child labour, and training young people to work as youth monitors in the sugar cane sector was an additional advantage.
Maintaining and scaling up the system should be a priority that is in the interest not only of BSCFA and the sugar cane-farming households but also the government of Belize, the sugar industry and other stakeholders.
2019’s literature review on public attitudes to fair trade and ethical consumption found that consumers consistently think it’s important for food brands to take action on key sustainability issues, including tackling global poverty, climate change and environmental protection. Products that are environmentally friendly and made by workers receiving fair wages are valued highly by shoppers, backing Fairtrade’s position all the way. There is increasing interest in where ingredients come from and how they are produced, and governments need to encourage transparency so that more people can shop sustainably. You can read how environmental protection is deeply ingrained in Fairtrade in this blog.
Fairtrade’s policy work in 2019 was vital for many reasons. Leading from the front, the team evaluated the most up-to-date research on living incomes and other areas of interest, providing the foundation from which the organisation and our supporters could demand action and a better life for farmers and workers’ communities from businesses, governments and others.
Sustainable livelihoods study in the cocoa sector – Mondelēz International
Our partnership work with Mondelēz International continues to drive impact and change, and the Sustainable Livelihoods report is a landmark in our understanding of the impact of the many well-intentioned interventions designed to support cocoa farmers in West Africa. The research report aims to identify ways to scale up, innovate, improve and create lasting change for cocoa farming communities in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, looking across the whole sector. Based on the outcomes of this landscape study, the partnership will be in a position to design programmes with farmers using innovative approaches and introduce interventions to positively disrupt the cocoa sector and allow farmers to increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods in a sustainable way. The report can be accessed here.
Farmers harvesting cocoa, Côte d'Ivoire
Farmers harvesting cocoa, Côte d'Ivoire
Making data count for producers
We continued to work to improve our data collection and processes for farmers so that they can be better informed through access to data. A highlight for 2019 was the continuation of the pilot project Make Data Count for Producers, a collaboration led by the Fairtrade Foundation’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team with the CLAC, the Guatemalan coffee producer organisation Acodihue, supported by Grid Impact. The sprint design process has led to three prototypes in order to improve routine data collection that could lead to better, more informed, swifter decision-making for farming organisations that will be tested and developed in 2020.
Investments in Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MEL)
Further investments in capacity and capabilities in MEL at the Fairtrade Foundation have bolstered our team's ability to research and confirm learnings for Fairtrade and our work. It has resulted in greater innovation in areas such as impact communications, supporting the Foundation’s public and commercial announcements. For example, calculating the estimated $1.1bn in Premium spend that has gone to farmers around the world over the first 25 years of Fairtrade. We will continue to refine and develop this to ensure that the benefits of Fairtrade for our farmers and members continue to be shared and evidenced.
By 2020, we will have a brand that sparks an even greater emotional connection with citizens, consumers and supporters.
We will have built and strengthened alliances and coalitions with policymakers and the media to influence change, amplifying the voices of farmers and workers.
What we said we would do in 2019
- Focus on growing public support for living incomes (in cocoa)
- Invest in and increase our supporter base
- Deepen collaboration with our strategic allies
- Continue to focus our policy work on Brexit to support the enabling environment for Fairtrade, and make trade fairer
- Celebrate 25 years of the Fairtrade Foundation and its impact, inviting people to ‘Join the Party!’
Our key successes
Focus on growing public support for living incomes (in cocoa)
2019 marked the first year of our three-year living income campaign, raising awareness in the UK population of the concept of and need for a sustainable income for farmers, and focusing on cocoa farmers and women in particular. By the end of 2019 consumer research found that 80 percent of the UK public ‘care about farmers in developing countries getting a living income’ (Kantar TNS Q4 2019). In relation to cocoa farmers specifically we saw a nine percent increase in public awareness for ‘Fairtrade is campaigning for living incomes for cocoa growers in West Africa’, rising from 56 percent in Q1 to 65 percent in Q4 (Kantar TNS Q1 2019 and Kantar TNS Q4 2019).
Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 campaign identity
Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 campaign identity
Public support for Fairtrade’s living income campaign grew over the year and expressed itself through a range of activities and channels. Campaigners supported Fairtrade to make a lot of noise over the year with 4,000 events, reaching one million people. 10,000 new supporters joined us on our journey, and businesses and MPs made their voices heard on the issue of living incomes.
Fairtrade Fortnight stall at Middlesex University
Fairtrade Fortnight stall at Middlesex University
Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 contributed to growing public support and awareness for the concept of living incomes – an amount earned by farmers which enables them to meet their everyday needs and provide for their families. During the fortnight we had stories across key media outlets and social media engagement resulting in greater reach than 2018. Rosine’s, our pop-up hot chocolate salon, welcomed more than 1,300 customers through word of mouth, listings and social media, and 40 pieces of media coverage. Online, the video of the salon had 1.5m views (1.4m unique), reached 2.4 million people, was watched for 526,000 minutes, and had 73,000 shares and likes.
Each hot chocolate, designed by ambassadors Melissa Hemsley, Tess Ward and Tom Hunt, was priced at £1.86, chosen to highlight the amount a farmer would have to earn a day to achieve a living income. The average price paid was £3.00, demonstrating that, when engaged, people were willing to pay more for fairness and a living income.
The hot chocolate drinks exclusively created for Rosine's pop-up salon
The hot chocolate drinks exclusively created for Rosine's pop-up salon
Meanwhile, there were almost 1 billion opportunities to see Fairtrade in the media, beating the objective of increased reach considerably and demonstrating media appetite for the right story. One in five shoppers said they had bought a Fairtrade product having heard of the campaign (Kantar CAPI Q1 2019).
Over the fortnight more than 50 partners got involved. Ben & Jerry’s supported online through blogs and social posts featuring cocoa farmer stories. At Unilever’s head office, Ben & Jerry’s and Fairtrade ran a staff engagement event and the ‘She Deserves a Living Income’ campaign was promoted at their flagship London ‘scoop shop’. Research indicated that 35 percent of people heard some kind of Fairtrade message during Fairtrade Fortnight (Kantar TNS post-Fairtrade Fortnight research 2019).
Ben & Jerry's London flagship scoop shop supporting Fairtrade Fortnight
Ben & Jerry's London flagship scoop shop supporting Fairtrade Fortnight
On 7 August 2019, Côte d’Ivoire’s Independence Day, Fairtrade campaigners joined Fairtrade Foundation staff at 10 Downing Street to hand in a petition calling on the government to take the lead internationally in supporting living incomes for cocoa farmers. The petition was received by 10 Downing Street resulting in a positive written response from Alok Sharma MP, then International Development Secretary of State, who pledged to champion the Fairtrade movement and open the door to further conversations.
(Left to right) Campaigners Bernadette Bell (left), Jackie Hancock (centre) and Trish Powell (second right) from Warrington Fairtrade group, with Fairtrade Foundation Director of Public Engagement
Julia Nocoara (second left) and the Foundation's Campaigns and Policy Officer Angharad Hopkinson (right)
(Left to right) Campaigners Bernadette Bell (left), Jackie Hancock (centre) and Trish Powell (second right) from Warrington Fairtrade group, with Fairtrade Foundation Director of Public Engagement
Julia Nocoara (second left) and the Foundation's Campaigns and Policy Officer Angharad Hopkinson (right)
During Fairtrade Fortnight, around 80 parliamentarians attended the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) reception at the Houses of Parliament to hear from Lord Price, Fairtrade Foundation Chief Executive Michael Gidney, and Awa Traoré, Director General of CAYAT cocoa co-operative in Côte d'Ivoire. Together, they highlighted the issues in the cocoa industry, and the need to support Fairtrade’s campaign for a living income.
(From left) Will Quince MP, Awa Traoré and Lord Bates at the APPG reception
(From left) Will Quince MP, Awa Traoré and Lord Bates at the APPG reception
The fact that the theme is part of a three-year holistic campaign on ‘a living income’ is really advantageous, in that it will allow us to develop this insight into our network of Fairtrade farmers, and continue to look at how we can all collaboratively work towards a fair living income for all.
Invest in and increase our supporter base
Work carried out in previous years on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) meant that we began 2019 with more robust data systems and processes, but a much lower number of contactable supporters to speak to about our work. Our aim of growing our base of supporters by a third was exceeded with the recruitment of around 36,000 new supporters to our email list alone, largely by targeting new people with actions they can take to support our living income petition, and the 25th anniversary of the FAIRTRADE Mark.
Our supporter base also includes a core of campaigners and in 2019, we launched the first ever Fairtrade Communities report – a snapshot of the reach and impact of campaigners. Meanwhile, a series of three regional campaigner conferences – in Exeter, Middlesbrough and Nottingham – brought together campaigners to build skills and knowledge to take their campaigns forward.
Fairtrade communities report
Fairtrade communities report
In a post-GDPR world, it’s harder to recruit new supporters and like many organisations we have seen the percentage of people signing up to hear more when they sign a petition or take other action dropping. However, we were encouraged that the level of engaged supporters has proved to be greater than anticipated.
Deepen collaboration with our strategic allies
We worked closely with a number of civil society organisations, including the Trade Justice Movement, the Ethical Trading Initiative, the CORE coalition, Sustain, and BOND, as well as individual NGOs, so that we could have a greater impact together. Due to the continued and deepening importance of our farmers’ relationship with the environment, we were pleased to develop more active relationships with environmental coalitions during 2019, including the Climate Coalition and Green Alliance.
We continued to work with a consortium of fair trade partners (including Fairtrade International and other National Fairtrade Organisations, the Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Traidcraft, and World Fair Trade Organisations across Europe) as a part of the Trade Fair Live Fair programme, and others on public mobilisation, research and advocacy.
We lobbied for systemic changes to the cocoa industry, so that it improves incomes for farmers alongside civil society organisations (CSOs) across Europe, such as the VOICE network. This has included lobbying the EU to bring in Human Rights Due Diligence regulations aimed at ensuring that all cocoa imported into Europe does not contribute to deforestation or child labour, and enables living incomes.
We deepened our relationship with several environmental and farming coalitions and organisations as part of our engagement with the National Food Strategy.
The Foundation’s relationship with the joint Department for International Development/ Department for International Trade 'Trade for Development' team has continued to grow, as part of our role in the Trade for Development Expert Trade Advisory Group, and on the Strategic Trade Advisory Group.
Our research on competition law saw us recognised as a thought leader on the issue and participate in high level discussions with political figures, legal experts and CSOs in Europe, including presenting our work at several conferences throughout the year.
Continue to focus our policy work on Brexit to support the enabling environment for Fairtrade, and make trade fairer
Brexit continued to dominate the political agenda and much of the public and media space, and Fairtrade played its part. Policy work around Brexit remained challenging in a crowded and ever louder environment, but our approach of constructive conversations with key ministers and civil servants bore fruit over the year, as we highlighted the importance of continued market access for developing countries.
The interest in Fairtrade’s 2018 key report on Competition Law and Sustainability was such that in January 2019, we hosted a roundtable discussion bringing together retailers and brands, government, legal experts, and representatives from academia and NGOs, to reflect on the research findings and discuss possible ways forward.
Sorting cocoa beans, West Africa
Sorting cocoa beans, West Africa
February and March saw the Foundation submit evidence to the government’s UK Global Tariff consultation in which we raised concerns about the impact of new trade policy proposals for developing countries. We are awaiting the publication of the new tariff schedule.
In March, our campaigning work focused on the impact that ‘no-deal’ could have on developing countries, calling for them to have secure access to markets. The subsequent announcement by the government of a no-deal tariff schedule that would protect developing countries from preference erosion as a result of a no-deal Brexit, plus the offer of transitional and time-limited market access protection to several low-income countries, was one of our key policy asks and a welcome move.
Our briefing ahead of the Committee Stage of the Agriculture Bill 2019-2021 was shared widely among MPs. During Fairtrade Fortnight, the actions of Geraint Davies MP and Theo Clarke MP secured parliamentary debates on ‘Trade deals and fair trade’ and ‘Trade and investment opportunities for women in the Commonwealth’. Both debates saw MPs speak passionately about the benefits of Fairtrade and the need for a greater role for trade for development objectives.
2019 also saw Michael Gidney accept an invitation to join the Department for International Trade’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group as the NGO representative. This remains an important opportunity for us to represent the views of producers and workers and the wider NGO community as the government moves ahead with an independent trade policy. More information on trade policy can be found here.
Meanwhile, the policy team’s Helen Dennis gave oral evidence to the International Development Committee in May 2019 on the sustainable development goals and the links to trade and development. Find out more on Parliament UK's site. And read Helen’s blog about Brexit.
Celebrate 25 years of the Fairtrade Foundation and its impact, inviting people to ‘Join the Party!’
The long weekend of 4-7 October 2019 saw the public, our campaigners and partners coming together to ‘Join the Party!’ across the country in celebrating the first 25 years of Fairtrade.
Hundreds of campaigners, along with local councillors and MPs, and regional campaigner groups, literally made their mark at events across the UK, with five regions creating the iconic FAIRTRADE Mark at locations ranging from the beach to buildings. Local media joined in with coverage of these creations across print, broadcast and online.
Fairtrade Guernsey campaigners make the FAIRTRADE Mark using litter from a beach clean
Fairtrade Guernsey campaigners make the FAIRTRADE Mark using litter from a beach clean
I would like to congratulate Fairtrade on all the important work that has been achieved these past 25 years. I am pleased the UK government has played a key role in supporting the Fairtrade movement in its efforts to help producers around the world improve their lives through receiving fair prices for their products. My department and I recognise more work must be done on this agenda around the world.
The ‘She Deserves’ theme, launched at Fairtrade Fortnight earlier this year where Lord Bates gave the keynote speech is one that resonates hugely with DFID. Workers across multiple global supply chains are not paid what they need to escape extreme poverty. This is particularly acute in the cocoa sector where women and girls are often the most vulnerable people within the supply chain.
In London, the ‘Fair Feast’ celebration brought our movement and stakeholders together around the table to reflect on 25 years of making a difference. Guests heard from producers, and the inimitable ‘Mama Cocoa’ herself, Anne-Marie Yao, regional Cocoa Manager for Fairtrade Africa, who joined us from Côte d’Ivoire. The Fairtrade Foundation policy team’s ‘menu for change’ reflected Fairtrade’s vision for the future and enabled guests to pledge their support for the Fairtrade movement in the 25 years ahead.
Anne-Marie Yao speaks at our 25th anniversary party
Anne-Marie Yao speaks at our 25th anniversary party
The celebration was supported by 30 partners who got involved in various ways, from Ben & Jerry’s launching Fairway to Heaven ice cream, containing Fairtrade vanilla, in conjunction with Co-op, to the Meaningful Chocolate Company launching a 25th anniversary bar with celebratory ‘Join the Party!’ campaign look and feel on pack.
Launching Ben & Jerry's Fairway to Heaven flavour at Co-op HQ
Launching Ben & Jerry's Fairway to Heaven flavour at Co-op HQ
25th anniversary chocolate bar from The Meaningful Chocolate Company
25th anniversary chocolate bar from The Meaningful Chocolate Company
Fairtrade is about making sure people get their fair share of the pie. The whole concept of Fairtrade goes to the heart of our values and the sense of right and wrong. Nobody wants to buy something that was made by exploiting somebody else.
The party was joined across the UK and results included 68 percent awareness that ‘Fairtrade has been fighting against exploitation and making a tangible difference to farmers’ and workers’ lives for 25 years’ (Kantar TNS Q4 2019).
After the celebrations we saw an increase in shoppers actively choosing Fairtrade products, with 31 percent of respondents actively purchasing Fairtrade products over an alternative product ‘always’ or ‘often’, our highest score on record and up from 30 percent. (Kantar TNS Q2)
‘It makes you realise that you can make a difference just by buying a cup of coffee!’
‘I just thought of it [Co-op] as somewhere to pop into for a loaf of bread but now I know this I see them differently.’
‘I would never have thought of somewhere like Greggs doing something like this. It makes me think more of them.’
‘I will go to Greggs now, not Costa if I know that it’s making that sort of difference.’
In terms of media and communications, the celebrations went way beyond expectations, with an estimated advertising value equivalent of £8m and over 700 pieces of media coverage and 200 journalists engaged with Fairtrade’s moment in the spotlight.
As always, we remain gratified and inspired by the willingness of our supporters to get involved, with the quantity of images of those making their mark bringing it home to us how much Fairtrade's mission is valued.
By 2020, we will have evolved from a single approach of certifying products to a portfolio of services.
We will increase the number of companies we work with that contribute to sustainable development in ways that really matter to farmers and workers, and which are accountable and transparent.
What we said we would do in 2019
- Continue our data project in the UK aimed at streamlining and developing our systems and processes
- Actively participate in a global Fairtrade data warehouse project
- Continue to deliver bespoke information and insight reporting solutions for commercial partners and new opportunities
Our key successes
Continue our data project in the UK aimed at streamlining and developing our systems and processes
2019 saw a continuation of the 2018 project to streamline and develop Fairtrade’s data systems and processes. The project was responsible for data cleansing across the Foundation, data ownership and quality checks, and moving the Foundation to new systems. The first major shift was a data upgrade enabling licensees to directly report their sales and volumes data for each quarter. Though the process was challenging, the system was tested for a planned ‘go live’ on 1 April 2020.
The planned transition to Salesforce, the Foundation’s customer relationship system, was successful in 2019, and will benefit all parties through being easier to use, with more efficient data use, which will positively impact on many other elements of Fairtrade’s business.
Actively participate in a global Fairtrade data warehouse project
Throughout 2019, we continued to contribute towards a global Fairtrade data warehouse project, aiming to store and share information across the entire Fairtrade system. This three-year project will continue to give us insight into producer statistics, commodity and Premium use information.
Continue to deliver bespoke information and insight reporting solutions for commercial partners and new opportunities
In 2019, we made progress on supporting our commercial partners to understand the full map of their supply chains, including the ‘middle layer’ of buyers and traders, and the impact on farmers and workers through their commitments to Fairtrade.
We worked with selected partners to create resources, including infographics to break down Fairtrade Premium investment. Others showed how Fairtrade Premium spend in supply chains contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals. We also created Impact Resource Toolkits containing Fairtrade Premium investment details and impact statements to enable partners to tell their Fairtrade story.
Finally, we also developed interactive Fairtrade Dashboards, which bring together open source development data with Fairtrade data to enable data-driven decision-making by commercial partners. We will offer these bespoke dashboards to a wider range of key partners in 2020 to give fuller transparency of producers in supply chains and demonstrate the impact of Fairtrade on farmers and workers.
By 2020, we will have played a lead role internationally in becoming a simpler, more flexible, cost-effective movement.
Strengthening our networks at origin is of equal importance. Farmers and workers already own half the system – by 2020, they will have even more say in how Fairtrade is run.
What we said we would do in 2019
- Redesign our management and development approaches, including taking part in National Learning Week in May 2019 to dedicate consolidated time for learning and development across the Fairtrade Foundation
- Review our Pay and Reward approach at the Foundation
- Embed the Fairtrade Global Organisation Code and associated Assurance Framework, policies and guidance manual at the Foundation
Our key successes
Redesign our management and development approaches, including taking part in National Learning Week in May 2019 to dedicate consolidated time for learning and development across the Fairtrade Foundation
In 2019, the organisation made a number of changes to our management and development approaches including delivering Management Development workshops. 40 percent of staff attended. Five in-house Feedback Masterclasses were delivered to 60 percent of staff, aiming to improve Emotional Intelligence awareness skills and encourage more regular feedback.
Externally provided coaching was popular for 20 percent of the Foundation’s staff in 2019, to further strengthen leadership skills and reinforce the focus on building the performance culture. The Foundation benefits from the commitment and support of volunteers and the Volunteer Management Development workshops were further refined over 2019.
Performance Management outcomes
96 employees had some form of training this year, with 619 instances of training recorded – 222 external events and 397 internally run events. The organisation sponsored five people to attend the two-week Global Development Course run by Ethical Events and supported three requests for external qualification study support.
A highlight for 2019 was Fairtrade’s first ever Learning Week in May 2019, which received positive feedback, with dedicated time to network, create and share learning experiences with each other and do something a little different in the office. The content delivered by teams – campaigning, policy, research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL), supply chain, fundraising, programmes and innovation – was critical to the success of the week in developing and sharing organisational knowledge. The intention is to repeat the week annually.
Review our Pay and Reward approach at the Foundation
The Institute for Employment Studies independently reviewed our pay policy and pay structure.
The project, monitored through our People, Safeguarding and Remuneration Committee, aims to introduce a more flexible and contemporary pay and policy framework. A workshop on the design of our recognition scheme took place in November 2019. The scheme aims to reinforce staff and volunteer engagement and acknowledge contributions in a meaningful and non-financial manner.
Embed the Fairtrade Global Organisation Code and associated Assurance Framework, policies and guidance manual at the Foundation
We launched our new Global Organisational Code and Values to all staff and volunteers, and plan to continue the work in 2020.
We put in place our enhanced safeguarding policies and procedures, and supported the global system to maintain the required safeguarding standards. We established a safeguarding committee and increased staff awareness of our safeguarding policy and codes of conduct, which led to increased confidence in reporting safeguarding matters.
Plans for 2020 and beyond
2020 is the fifth and final year of our current strategy, and our planned activity focuses on continuing to deliver impact around our strategic goals. However, at the time of writing, we are pivoting our plans in light of the COVID-19 crisis to support Fairtrade farmers and workers around the world during this unprecedented situation. Now, more than ever, we are guided by our shared Fairtrade vision of a world in which all producers can enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods, fulfil their potential and decide on their future. We are adapting our planned activity in 2020 to continue striving towards this vision in the context of the current situation.
- During the current pandemic, our primary focus is to protect our internal operations and people, as well as protecting volumes for producers through close collaboration with targeted commercial partners.
- Our second focus area is help our stakeholders and producers wherever we can. We will support our partners, farmers and workers through the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Our third focus area is readiness preparation for the lifiting of restrictions on movement and retail, allowing us to support producers to trade their way out of the crisis and strengthen their businesses and communities.
- As this remains a rapidly changing situation, we continue to work to build flexibility and agility into our activities and approach as an organisation, allowing us to respond as quickly as possible as the situation evolves.
Our four strategic objectives remain:
Understand and communicate our impact
- Focus on protecting and growing volume and benefits for our producers through close collaboration with targeted commercial partners.
- Protect and support producers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Secure grants and funding to support our core sourcing and programmatic work on the ground.
- Continue measuring the impact of our work on the ground.
Fuel demand for Fairtrade across society
- Continue to grow public support for living incomes (in cocoa).
- Focus on growing our engagement and relevance within the climate conversation.
- Deepen collaboration with our strategic allies.
- Continue to focus our policy work on supporting the enabling environment for Fairtrade, and make trade fairer.
- Continue to engage with and increase our supporter base.
Improve and Innovate
- Continue to deliver bespoke information and insight reporting solutions for commercial partners.
- Continue our data project in the UK aimed at streamlining and developing our systems and processes.
- Continue to actively contribute to the global Fairtrade data project.
A strengthened organisation
- Work with our global membership system to develop our Fairtrade strategy for the next five years (2021-2025).
- Continue our project to upgrade our website.
- Continue to foster a flexible culture where staff have the tools and development support to contribute to organisational strategy, plans and ambitions.
Financial review
The information above along with the document at the link below together comprise our Annual Report and Financial Statements
Credits
Author: Justin Avern
Editors: Jenny Tither, Sebastian Lander
Design and image research: Sacha Dunning, Tania Newman
Photography: Andy Wilson, Nathalie Bertrams, Dominique Fofanah, Eduardo Martino, Stanislav Kominek, Simon Rawles, Andrew Porter, Peter Caton, Sacha Dunning, Chris Terry, James Rodriguez, Tobias Thiele, Linus Hallgren, Kate Fishpool, CLAC, Sean Hawkey, David Finlay, Haworth Fairtrade, Stephanie Wong, Ben & Jerry's, Alex Rumford, Heather Nicholson, The Drone Ranger
fairtrade.org.uk
5.7 The Loom, 14 Gower’s Walk, London E1 8PY
Tel +44 (0) 20 7405 5942
Email: mail@fairtrade.org.uk
Registered charity no. 1043886
A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales
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