Fairtrade

About Fairtrade

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.

The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on UK products as a guarantee that they have been certified against internationally agreed Fairtrade standards. It shares internationally recognised Fairtrade standards with initiatives in 20 other countries, working together globally with producer networks as Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). The Mark indicates that the product has been certified to give a better deal to the producers involved – it does not act as an endorsement of an entire company’s business practices.

The Fairtrade minimum price defines the lowest possible price that a buyer of Fairtrade products must pay the producer. The minimum price is set based on a consultative process with Fairtrade producers and traders and guarantees that producers receive a price which covers the cost of sustainable production. When the market price is higher than the Fairtrade minimum price, the market price is payable.

The Wilberforce Freedom Brand

Wilberforce Freedom - a Fairtrade brand unique to StaintonWard. Inspired by Hull’s special links to the abolition of slavery and celebrating the name of William Wilberforce and his associates in their achievement.

The Wilberforce Freedom products are produced specially for StaintonWard and have been selected because of quality, taste and value. Currently we are able to supply coffee beans, ground coffee and hot chocolate in the Wilberforce Freedom brand but hope to expand this to tea and more coffee products soon.

We believe that we should all aim to give a little extra, so at StaintonWard we give 5% of the profits of Wilberforce Freedom products back to fairtrade related activities every year.

In the past three years we have sent these donations to a Hull based charity called WEFT contributing to the provision of micro loans in the Third World. Most recently we have provided cash for direct support of two coffee bean microwashing facilities in Uganda for the Bukanzo Organics Cooperative Union (BOCU).