Comments on: Equitable trade – the Malagasy chocolate experiment

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:35:11 +0000

Yes, it isn’t easy to follow – Robert is the chocolate maker in Madagascar.
Malagasy is a separate company that is a partnership between Robert, and a number of other Malagasy companies, with a base in Lancashire, of all places.
The entrepreneur who started Malagasy then left the company to found Equitrade as a foundation, to encourage other businesses to follow the same model. They’re only starting, so Malagasy are still the only registered company, but they’re getting some recognition and are viewed as highly ethical by independent bodies.
I have been in touch with them too. I’ve exchanged a couple of emails, and I’ll be watching this space.

By: merry

merry — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:19:51 +0000

Great article – led me to check Malagasy and Equitrade out further but the information I found was a bit confusing… Malagasy and Equitrade seem to be the same business, and there’s no mention of Robert at all.

Has anyone tried getting in touch with them? I tried ringing the different numbers but to no avail. Smells a bit funny to me – another business claiming to be charitable which aren’t. These are the worst sort of business for developing country businesses.

By: globalfayre

globalfayre — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:02:03 +0000

You’re right about corporations hijacking Fair Trade. We saw the same thing happen when ‘organic’ became a marketing buzz word. There is an interesting debate now between some of the leading Fair Trade coffee companies and TransfairUSA (who certifies Fair Trade food products here in the USA). There seems to be some flexing of the Fair Trade ‘rules’ to enable WalMart to stock fair trade coffee from plantations rather than from cooperatives…..

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:47:43 +0000

It’s great that Global Fayre gets to share that perspective with people, and it sounds like your company is setting a good example in modelling what Fair Trade is about.

It certainly isn’t meant to be charity, but I think it has been hijacked a little by corporations wanting to look more ethical than they are. A particular tea brand comes to mind here in the UK who recently got Rainforest Alliance certified (different thing, but the principle holds). That’s great, but the way they talked about it you’d think they had solved global poverty in one stroke. It’s that kind of misrepresentation that I’m wary of.

By: globalfayre

globalfayre — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:33:47 +0000

I don’t agree that Fair Trade is (meant to be) portrayed as charitable. Quite the opposite – when we give people talks in our store about the Fair Trade movement, we stress that it is absolutely NOT charity; it’s about treating trading partners with respect and helping people that are trying to help themselves. Helping them by forming a lasting FAIR trading relationship.

By: Zoky

Zoky — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:33:27 +0000

Good for Robert! It always had fantastic chocolate and I am very glad that the world is waking up to it! It is reassuring to hear that the factories in Madagascar have been upgraded. I remember Robert’s open days, when the street children could all crowd in and get some free chocolate along with a goodly number of respectable citizens. The former were not at all averse to dipping a grimy finger into a mix and licking it clean, and there was no way of stopping them!

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:36:52 +0000

No, Fair Trade is definitely a good thing, I agree. What’s misleading about it is that when you step into Starbucks or a similar outlet, you find that Fair Trade is portrayed as somehow charitable and philanthropic, which it isn’t at all. It’s fair, and that’s all it’s claiming to be. It promises not to exploit, which is great, but isn’t as good as actively seeking to benefit someone. If you want a system of trade that’s more than fair, that’s generous, that’s about investing in the poor, transferring skills, creating greater independence, you need something more like the Divine model, Cafedirect, or Equitrade.

By: globalfayre

globalfayre — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:41:01 +0000

Interesting blog – thanks!
Global Fayre is a Fair Trade retailer based in Springfield, MO. We carry a number of Fair Trade chocolates, some of which do a better job at giving a larger share to the producing coop than others. With Divine, for instance, the growers in Ghana own one third of the production company, so I guess that takes it somewhat towards your notion of Equitrade. We also stock Shaman chocolate, from Central Mexico – they handle all production etc themselves.
So – not al Fair Trade is as ‘bad’ as you painted it in terms of where the values fall.

By: hungrybritain

hungrybritain — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:35:03 +0000

Regardng the current uncertainties with food prices and the role of ever increasing demand from China and India. There is a greater need for us to conserve and be increasingly frugal about food consumption at home.

Simple food saving tips are things we need to get used to and practice more regularly. Most of these are common sense and can be quite creative. You can find a list of free food saving tips at sites such as http://www.foodcrisis.co.uk amongst other similar sites as well.

We all need to contribute to a fairer and a more foodwise program for ourselves.