Four Bangladeshi handicraft producers and organisations have been
certified as “guaranteed fair trade organisations” for meeting the
growing demand for ethical and sustainable products.
Hathay Bunano, Thanapara Swallows Development Society, Prokritee, and
Base Bangladesh got the recognition from the World Fair Trade
Organisation (WFTO).
Set up in 2005, Hathay Bunano is well-known for making Pebble brand
toys which are sold in 37 countries. It employs 8,000 disadvantaged
women as artisans.
Thanapara Swallows exports its garments made of handloom fabrics to
Japan, Denmark, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. It
employs 250 people, according to Md Raihan Ali, executive director of
the non-governmental organisation.
Base Bangladesh, also known as Bangladesh Shilpo Ekota, is a network
that works for the promotion, marketing and distribution of handicrafts
made by 17 producers' groups in Khulna region.
These groups employ more than 10,000 men and women. Their products
are exported to Italy, Spain, the UK, Sweden and Japan. Prokritee
supports more than 1,500 artisans in rural areas to make goods from
renewable sources of materials such as recycled sari, waste jute, silk,
handmade paper, natural fibres and leaves.
The WFTO certifies organisations operating in any part of the supply chain -- from producers to retailers.
An entity needs to respect the international fair trade standards to be recognised as a guaranteed fair trade organisation.
The WFTO label, the first of its kind, was unveiled in Frankfurt, Germany yesterday.
With the fair trade label, consumers will be able to identify
products in the international marketplace that meet high economic,
social
and environmental sustainability criteria.
“There are no international public regulations for the certification
of fair trade products. Private entities can deliberately set up their
own criteria and certify a single product without considering the
practices of the company that sells these products,” said Rudi Dalvai,
president of the WFTO.
“That is why, it is of utmost importance to have a label that allows
consumers to clearly identify the organisations who are 100 percent
committed to fair trade,” he said in a statement.
“It's a big achievement for handicraft producers in Bangladesh,” said Samantha Morshed, founder of Hathay Bunano.
She said, for some years now there has been a labelling system for
commodities such as coffee and chocolate. “It's great that the World
Fair Trade Organisation is now introducing a label for handicrafts as
well.”
The German organisation said, by buying products carrying the new
label, traders and consumers can make a concrete contribution to
creating a world that will fight poverty, social injustice and
discrimination, and support economically disadvantaged small producers.
The principles of fair trade include creating opportunities for
economically disadvantaged producers, transparency and accountability,
no child labour, women's economic empowerment, and freedom of
association.
At present, there are about 50 fair trade organisations around the world, according to the WFTO website.
