Promoting fair trade through Procurement
What is fair trade?
Fair trade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring customers to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), the concept of fair trade seeks to address the imbalances of conventional trade in which traditionally small independent producers have little power in the market.
A number of organisations exist to support fair trade and they have developed various fair trade labels to identify products which have been produced in accordance with internationally recognised fair trade standards. The following organisations are just some of those working to promote fair and ethical trade:
- The Fairtrade Foundation, see www.fairtrade.org.uk.
- The Rainforest Alliance, see www.rainforest-alliance.org
- UTZ Certified, see www.utzcertified.org
How is it relevant to Procurement Lincolnshire?
Procurement Lincolnshire and the eight partner authorities are committed to sustainable procurement and are working on a range of initiatives in order to demonstrate this commitment. Fair trade is just one aspect of sustainable procurement which procurers in partner authorities may choose to support. Many common foodstuffs which are purchased to a greater or lesser extent by the partner authorities will have fair trade certified products available; these include tea, coffee, sugar, chocolate, bananas and honey.
The scope for local authorities to procure Fair trade products
All partner authorities are bound by the EU public procurement regime and for those who wish to support fair trade through their procurement activity, this must done so in a manner which is consistent with this complex legislation. As a general rule, procurers should not insist on solely fair trade product ranges. Perhaps, the simplest way for partners to legitimately support fair trade through procurement is through using either: 1) ESPO’s grocery (no 88) and vending machine (no 900) contracts; or 2) other existing contracts where a fair trade range has legitimately been made available. Additional guidance on how fair trade can be taken into account in public procurement is available from the Cabinet Office website – for further advice and practical support on this issue, please contact Procurement Lincolnshire.
Guidance for suppliers
Suppliers involved in catering services or supplies may wish to consider offering fair trade options as part of the product range they can offer to the partner authorities. For example, the ability to purchase fair trade tea and coffee may be included as part of a range of provisions that a supplier is willing to offer. Additionally, those suppliers with existing contracts with partner authorities may wish to consider offering fair trade alternatives on a voluntary basis where their contract permits this.
Scope of this guidance
It should be noted that the information provided above is specifically addressed from the perspective of using public procurement contracts to support fair trade initiatives. As such, the recommendations provided are intended to be complementary to any wider fair trade initiatives pursued by individual partner authorities.
