Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
empowerment incorporates key gender issues, enhancing the position of female produc-
ers and workers in Africa. What makes fair trade's e
ff
orts potentially more powerful than
other labor standards e
orts is the inclusion of temporary as well as permanent workers
and the clear focus on women's empowerment and full representation. While by no means
a panacea, fair trade provides an important avenue for addressing critical environmental
and social problems in Africa today.
ff
Notes
1.
For an enlightening analysis of how trade relations fuel environmental and social problems in Africa, see
Gibbon and Ponte (2005).
2.
FINE is an acronym made up of the
fi
rst letter of the name of its members: FLO, IFAT, NEWS! and
EFTA.
3.
Non-certi
fi
ed (largely handicraft) items account for an additional US$169 million in fair trade sales (Krier,
2005).
4.
See Raynolds et al. (2007a) for a more detailed analysis of fair trade social and environmental standards in
the co
ff
ee sector and comparisons with competing certi
fi
cations.
5.
For an insightful analysis of the growth of ethical certi
fi
cations in the African
fl
ower industry, see Hughes
(2001).
6.
FLO environmental standards are speci
fi
ed by commodity but all follow these general guidelines; for crop
speci
fi
c rules, see FLO (2007g).
7.
Despite the controversy surrounding industry practices, the African cut-
fl
ower and ornamental plant indus-
try o
ers large-scale employment opportunities and is important for a number of national economies,
including that of Kenya.
ff
8.
In co
ee, for example, FLO standards stipulate that buyers pay a guaranteed minimum of US$1.21 per
pound for conventional co
ff
ff
ee, with certi
fi
ed organic co
ff
ee receiving an additional US$0.20 per pound
(FLO-I, 2007a).
9.
Women comprise 47 percent of the total agricultural labor force in Africa (FAO, 2005).
References
Barrett, H.R. et al. (2001), 'Smallholder farmers and organic certi
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,
112
, 267-77.
Barrientos, Stephanie et al. (2003), 'A gendered value chain approach to codes of conduct in African horticul-
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,
31
(9), 1511-26.
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Journal of Asian and African Studies
,
40
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Dolan, Catherine S. (2007), 'Market a
fi
ff
ectations: moral encounters with Kenyan fairtrade
fl
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Dolan, Catherine S., Maggie Opondo and Sally Smith (2003), 'Gender, rights and participation in the Kenya
cut-
ower industry', NRI Report No. 2768, Chatham Maritime: Natural Resources Institute.
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Fairtrade_roses_q_and_a.pdf.
Fairtrade Foundation (2007), 'Fairtrade Foundation producer pro
fl
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fi
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ff
le.pdf.
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dim_pe1/docs/pe1_051002d1_en.doc.
FINE (2003),
fi
'What is FINE?',
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fi
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12What%20is%20FINE.pdf.
FLO-I (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International) (2005a), 'Annual report 2004/2005 - delivering oppor-
tunities', available at http://www.fairtrade.net/uploads/media/FLO_AR_2004_05.pdf.
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FLO-I (2006b), 'Number of fairtrade certi
fi
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trade.net/by_location.html.
FLO-I (2007a), 'Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International', available at http://www.fairtrade.net.
