Fair Trade
Children’s Aid together with Onda solidaria in Brazil are opening up the UK / European market for Fair Trade goods that will generate jobs and income to families from poor communities in Brazil.
With this project we aim to promote the philosophy and importance of Fair Trade as well as to raise funds for Children’s Aid projects with children in Brazil.
For more information on the Tudo Bom project, please download the Tudo Bom Catalogue: Word Document/ Powerpoint Document
Fair Trade Project – Onda Brazil
Onda Brazil project encourages the development of jobs and
income generation in Brazil through the commercialisation
of Fair Trade goods.
Focusing specifically in the production and the export of
textile products, also working in partnership with handcraft
and food producers in exporting goods to countries that have
already developed internal markets that are Fair Trade friendly.
Fair Trade
Children’s Aid / Solidaria’s Fair Trade concept is based upon the one developed by FACES do Brazil- Forum de Articulacao do Comercio Etico e Solidario do Brazil- together with many players in the Fair Trade production chain.
Concept:
Fair Trade is a way of empowering waged workers, producers
and rural families that are disadvantaged or marginalized
by the conventional system. Fair Trade has the following characteristics:
- Based on ethical relationships, transparency and cooperation between many production-chain players.
- A Fair remuneration and the contribution to build up a relationship of solidarity in the economy.
- Respects cultural and historic diversity and recognises the value of knowledge and the communities traditions.
Principals
Onda Brazil project follows the international principals of Fair Trade, adapting to the demands and needs of the international consumer market. There are 9 defined principals set down by the International Federation of Alternative Trade- IFAT:
- Generation of opportunity to small producers in the South;
- Transparency and trustworthiness through out the commercialisation chain;
- Development of producers capabilities;
- Promotion of Fair Trade;
- Payment of a Fair price;
- Equality of goods;
- Good working conditions;
- No to the exploitation of child labour;
- Environment conservation.
Beneficiaries
In accordance with the concepts and principals of Fair Trade, Children’s Aid / OndaSolidaria supports production enterprises of:
- Women’s production groups
- Indigenous groups
- Rural families
- Small family businesses
- Cooperatives and agricultural and urban associations
- Craftsmen/women
- Young entrepreneurs
Main area
Textile
The clothes produced in the Onda Brazil project are exported
to France, England and Spain. The production is developed
in the city of Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro state supporting
groups of seamstresses and a small business in the region
that specialised in the art of print. The partnership between
the print and the group of seamstresses made possible a better
agility in the production process and an increase in quality
and scale.
Fair Trade appeared as a differentiated concept of valorisation
of the workers and in the development of the prints as well
as in the payment of the Fair price, the transparency culture
in relation with the chains and in the creation of opportunities
the project also gave the “Social Premium” to
the seamstress and the workers from the print through the
Fair Trade brand “Tudo Bom?”.
Group of seamstress
Through a survey we discovered that there were difficulties faced by the group of seamstresses in establishing themselves in the market and sustaining their business. These discoveries led to the development of our three target aims.
|
AIM |
DIFFICULTIES |
| New production space. | Today the seamstresses work in one of their homes, where some of the rooms have been made into sewing rooms. The space is small and doesn’t allow for growth within the business. There are two 9m2 rooms each where the swing machines are, as well as a larger space behind the house for the cutting table. The kitchen and dinning room are part of this space. |
| To establish a permanent team of seamstress. | One of the biggest difficulties for the group is to have all the woman working stable hours. The lack of regular work leads to women leaving regularly to look for more work elsewhere. Our goal is to secure a monthly minimum income that would make it viable to pay at least a minimum salary to all the seamstress. |
| Institutionalisation as a small business. | The fact that the seamstresses are not officially registered makes it difficult for them to compete as a local business. The institutionalisation is seem as a long term aim, it will be important for the independency of the group and to achieve success in the formal market. |
The group receives for their work a value 50% above the market average with their monthly production capacity at 2.500 units. Today they are making only 1/5 of this capacity. It is with great enthusiasm that the women see Fair Trade, as an alternative way of reaching their productive capacity based in Fair financial gains.
The project hopes to guarantee with new partnerships the opening of markets and a constant and growing demand.
Other seamstress groups from low-income communities in Rio de Janeiro State are already being looked at to see if they could be part of this project in the future, increasing the overall production capacity and bringing these groups the benefits of Fair Trade.
Composition of the Fair Price
| Raw material | 30% |
| Labour work (cut+stamp+sew) | 10% |
| Complementary materials | 6% |
| Logistics (production) | 2% |
| Organization (production) | 12% |
| Tax (production) | 3% |
| Social Premium | 6% |
| Management of orders and exports | 31% |
| Final price of sale in Brazil (Free on Board) | 100% |
Be part of this movement and support the sustainable development of the planet.
For more information and to join the movement please contact us.
International Fair Trade Seminar - Amazon 2004
