Trade for Development Centre is a programme of Enabel, the Belgian development agency.
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Articles

Say it with flowers

October 28th 2014

In 2007, Hilary Benn, Britain’s International Development Secretary asked consumers to buy roses from Kenya because importing African flowers is better for the environment in view of the fact they are not grown in heated greenhouses. He added that it makes it easier for African people to make a decent living.
But are his arguments right? How sustainable are flowers from the South and how good are the working conditions? And what is fair trade’s role in this?

Read more »

Fair trade from Europe. Fair trade no longer an exclusive North-South story

October 28th 2014

Over the last forty years, fair trade has proved to be a strong development model built on a cup of coffee from Latin America and a chocolate bar from Africa. It is a way for consumers to fight existing inequalities between the North and the South. But what about our own farmers who are also victims of the existing agricultural model? Isn’t a Greek farmer entitled to a fair price for his produce? These issues have occupied European fair trade movements for a while. Over the last few years more and more concrete initiatives in the area have emerged.

Read more »

Fair trade brings hope to vanilla producers

October 28th 2014

Few crops are as labour-intensive and time-demanding as vanilla. After saffron, vanilla is the most expensive spice in the world. Still, it brings farmers in Madagascar and elsewhere little more than dire poverty. The vanilla value chain is a complex one and competition from synthetic vanilla is deadly. Fortunately, thanks to fair trade, some vanilla producers are hopeful for the future.

Read more »

Fair wages for farm labourers? Fair trade in search of better employment conditions in the weakest link of its value chain

October 28th 2014

Consumers relate fair trade to products of ‘small farmers’ who work in cooperatives. This image is not really correct because already in 1994 a first large tea plantation became fair trade certified. Twenty years later fair trade labels source bananas, tea, flowers and wine from large farm businesses, while the debate whether this is the way to go is still raging. Central to the debate is the living wage concept, a fair wage for all workers – including seasonal workers

Read more »

Better market access for producers in four TDC projects

October 28th 2014

Better market access for producers in four Trade for Development Centre projects. What do Palestinian cooperatives, Peruvian loggers, Bolivian organic farmers and Congolese coffee growers have in common? They all look for a way out of poverty and conflict by strengthening their organisation and searching for markets for their improved products. To achieve that dream each of them received a real boost of the Trade for Development Centre.

Read more »

More trouble ahead for the cotton sector

November 4th 2013

Cotton is one of the most widely cultivated crops worldwide. The cotton sector is subject to very unstable prices. This is especially to the disadvantage of African producer countries where cotton is often the only source of revenue for millions of farmers and workers. Moreover, the cotton sector is subject to serious environmental and health risks. To deal with these, African cotton growers must look for credible alternatives such as fairtrade and/or organic cotton.

Read more »

A new phase in the fight against illegal logging

November 4th 2013

The demand for timber and timber products is increasing worldwide. 20 to 40% of all timber imported into Europe is derived from illegal logging. The European Union could no longer remain unaware of these market-disturbing practices. After long deliberations the European Parliament and the Council approved a Regulation in 2010 that prohibits the importation of illegally-logged timber. The EU Timber Regulation enters into force on 3 March 2013.

Read more »

Say it with flowers

October 28th 2014

In 2007, Hilary Benn, Britain’s International Development Secretary asked consumers to buy roses from Kenya because importing African flowers is better for the environment in view of the fact they are not grown in heated greenhouses. He added that it makes it easier for African people to make a decent living.
But are his arguments right? How sustainable are flowers from the South and how good are the working conditions? And what is fair trade’s role in this?

Read more »

Fair trade from Europe. Fair trade no longer an exclusive North-South story

October 28th 2014

Over the last forty years, fair trade has proved to be a strong development model built on a cup of coffee from Latin America and a chocolate bar from Africa. It is a way for consumers to fight existing inequalities between the North and the South. But what about our own farmers who are also victims of the existing agricultural model? Isn’t a Greek farmer entitled to a fair price for his produce? These issues have occupied European fair trade movements for a while. Over the last few years more and more concrete initiatives in the area have emerged.

Read more »

Fair trade brings hope to vanilla producers

October 28th 2014

Few crops are as labour-intensive and time-demanding as vanilla. After saffron, vanilla is the most expensive spice in the world. Still, it brings farmers in Madagascar and elsewhere little more than dire poverty. The vanilla value chain is a complex one and competition from synthetic vanilla is deadly. Fortunately, thanks to fair trade, some vanilla producers are hopeful for the future.

Read more »

Fair wages for farm labourers? Fair trade in search of better employment conditions in the weakest link of its value chain

October 28th 2014

Consumers relate fair trade to products of ‘small farmers’ who work in cooperatives. This image is not really correct because already in 1994 a first large tea plantation became fair trade certified. Twenty years later fair trade labels source bananas, tea, flowers and wine from large farm businesses, while the debate whether this is the way to go is still raging. Central to the debate is the living wage concept, a fair wage for all workers – including seasonal workers

Read more »

Better market access for producers in four TDC projects

October 28th 2014

Better market access for producers in four Trade for Development Centre projects. What do Palestinian cooperatives, Peruvian loggers, Bolivian organic farmers and Congolese coffee growers have in common? They all look for a way out of poverty and conflict by strengthening their organisation and searching for markets for their improved products. To achieve that dream each of them received a real boost of the Trade for Development Centre.

Read more »

More trouble ahead for the cotton sector

November 4th 2013

Cotton is one of the most widely cultivated crops worldwide. The cotton sector is subject to very unstable prices. This is especially to the disadvantage of African producer countries where cotton is often the only source of revenue for millions of farmers and workers. Moreover, the cotton sector is subject to serious environmental and health risks. To deal with these, African cotton growers must look for credible alternatives such as fairtrade and/or organic cotton.

Read more »

A new phase in the fight against illegal logging

November 4th 2013

The demand for timber and timber products is increasing worldwide. 20 to 40% of all timber imported into Europe is derived from illegal logging. The European Union could no longer remain unaware of these market-disturbing practices. After long deliberations the European Parliament and the Council approved a Regulation in 2010 that prohibits the importation of illegally-logged timber. The EU Timber Regulation enters into force on 3 March 2013.

Read more »

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