TO help popularize the use of fair trade products, fair trade supporters tapped the youth and organized them into a network of young fair trade followers.
Dubbed as the Young Advocates (Ya!) of Fair Trade, the group in Cebu is designed to perform community service activities to help small farmers and producers. They are also expected to create links with fair trade youth advocates in other parts of the world.
The group, which is comprised of more than 70 members—with ages between 18 and 35 years old—who come from different schools and communities, was launched last Friday at St. Theresa’s College. Most of them are business management students.
“We want a conscious youth. One good market of fair trade is the youth because they have the idealism and the concepts they learned in school are still strong to them. Plus, they are our future business leaders, so let us start them young. Let us get them to do business the right way,” said Ronald Lagazo, advocacy and fair trade promotions manager of the Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade Inc.
Tapping these young people is part of the Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade’s efforts to involve more people in lobbying for fair trade. Fair trade products are made in environmentally-, economically- and socially-responsible conditions.
Low awareness
Lagazo lamented, however, that consumer awareness in the country on fair trade practice and products has not yet reached one percent since “there has been no effort to try to (get) the support of local consumers.”
“All fair trade organizations have always been outward-looking. They look at the export market as that has always been a better option for them. The good thing is, about two to three years ago, they are starting to look at how they can possibly encourage the Filipino consumers to support this concept,” he explained.
In the country, the concept of fair trade, he said, has been around for more than 20 years but the strong advocacy for it started in the 1990s when fair trade organizations started forming a network.
There are currently more than 25 fair trade organizations in the country.
Members of Ya! also attended a fair trade forum last Saturday where guest speaker Vince Cinches of the Fisherfolk Development Center said that fair trade is being eyed as one of the solutions to climate change.
He said countries, such as United States, Japan and those in Europe, are major contributors of greenhouse gases but they have the financial resources to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“Poor countries, such as the Philippines, which only give out small amount of greenhouse gases compared to the rich areas also suffer the consequences, especially when they have less in terms of capacity to mitigate the effects of climate change,” he said.
One consequence he cited is that climate change aggravates food production such that “fishes will go to somewhere colder while irregular downpour will affect farm harvests.”
What fair trade advocates can do, according to the Southern Partners and Fair Trade Corp., is to embark on programs, calling on the practice of natural farming and organic production, among others. (NRC)
