Public Lecture Series

The Great Cotton Stitch Up: what can Fairtrade guarantee?

• Date: Thursday 3rd March 2011
• Time: 5.30pm
• Venue: EB.G.08, East Building, Docklands Campus
• Transport: Cyprus DLR Station

by Barbara Crowther, Director of Policy and Communications (Fairtrade Foundation)

UEL is proud to have been awarded Fairtrade University status and to mark the occasion will be holding a guest lecture on Fairtrade certified cotton, the focus product for this year's Fairtrade Fortnight. An estimated 100 million rural households are involved in the production of cotton in 70 countries around the world. Two-thirds of this cotton is produced in the developing world. For most farmers in cotton-producing communities it is their only means of income and their only cash crop.

Although Fairtrade cotton has been available for some time, still less than 1% of cotton fashion on the high street carries the FAIRTRADE Mark. Fairtrade cotton guarantees a Fairtrade minimum price as wellas a Fairtrade premium for investment in social development projects such as water, education and healthcare.

Unfair trade rules also contribute to keeping cotton farmers trapped in poverty. More than 10 million West African people who rely on cotton for their livelihoods are not able to compete on a level playing field. Cotton farmers in the United States, the EU and China are highly subsidised leading to over production. When their huge volumes of cotton are dumped on world markets, prices are driven down and small scale farmers cannot compete.

Barbara Crowther from the Fairtrade Foundation will be discussing the barriers preventing the world’s poorest cotton farmers from making a living and how we can make a difference.

More information about Fairtrade can be found here: http://www.uel.ac.uk/greenthing/fairtrade/index.htm 

 

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