From Andrzej Żwawa │ Fairtrade Polska
Undoubtedly, the current crisis will have a huge negative impact on the world’s economy. Vulnerable farmers and workers from the Global South will certainly be among those most affected by the glooming recession. We are in touch with companies, offering our support in responsible marketing of their Fairtrade products. At the same time, we are using social media and other communication channels to convince consumers that making responsible shopping decisions has now become even more important.
Fairtrade International together with National Fairtrade Organizations, Fairtrade Marketing Organizations and Producer Networks are monitoring the situation and to find every possible way to support Fairtrade producers and businesses in getting through the crisis. One of the immediate measures applied is a new guidance to Fairtrade Standards. As announced by the Standards Committee, producer organizations and Fairtrade-certified plantations have gained more flexibility in spending Fairtrade Premium. The money can now be distributed in cash to farmers and workers, providing them with extra income in this difficult time. Fairtrade Premium can also be spent on hygiene and protective measures, such as disposable gloves or face masks.
We also invite you to take a look at our materials published in English (please click the ‘Pobierz wersję cyfrową’ button to download the PDFs) :
- Fairtrade Polska 2019 In Review; the report is an overview of activity of Fairtrade Polska in 2019. It includes the most important facts about Fairtrade, our organisation, and the growth of Fairtrade in Poland, as well as a summary of operations.
- Fairtrade Polska Report for 2018.
- What is Fairtrade; a leaflet in English explaining how Fairtrade works to support farmers and workers.
- Fairtrade Empowerment (2017); a case study of cooperation of smallholder banana producers forming the ASOGUABO cooperative in Ecuador.
- Fairtrade bananas on the Polish Market (2016; published by th Buy Responsibly Foundation); A summary of report about the bananas market in Poland and Europe and guidance on introducing Fairtrade-certified bananas to the Polish market.
Apart from that we have also recently published ‘What is Fairtrade’ leaflets in Russian and Ukrainian. Please click the ‘Pobierz wersję cyfrową’ button to download the PDF.
Apart from that we would also like to recommend you our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/fairtradepolska. Especially, please take a look at the videos regarding the current situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2vHX2fda-g and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp-wAiias9w (here you can see most of our team at work 🙂)