1- Script and Recording

Fairtrade: Shopping with a Conscience

Adapted from The Independent

05 March 2006,

A recent poll says more than half of us recognize the Fairtrade symbol. In 2003, there were 150 products carrying it while there are more than 1,500 today. Fair trade has gone mainstream. Marks & Spencer sells Fairtrade clothes, Sainsbury's makes all its rose bouquets from flowers grown by Fairtrade farmers in Kenya. Even Topshop, iconic leader of fast fashion, will start selling ethical clothing, tops from Gossypium, jeans from Hug, and cotton blouses from People Tree, the fashion label. As David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, declared, “We will fight for free and fair trade, increase international aid and press for further debt relief”. From being the minority concern of the right-on and religious, ethical trade has suddenly become an idea everyone seems to agree on. And the shops supporting ethical trading in response to popular demand are cashing in. How did that happen?

The first product in this country to carry the Fairtrade label was Maya Gold chocolate in 1994. Since then, the Fairtrade Foundation has been run by Oxfam, Cafod and several other British charities, including the Women's Institute, and is one of 20 such organizations across the world that issues licences. However, ethical trade is not about charity, it is about good business that works for the public, works for the farmers who produce the goods, and works for the businesses that sell it.

Is everyone a winner? Not according to those economists who are sceptical about Fairtrade and believe the scheme props up markets that should be allowed to collapse or adapt. They also outline a problem with the way products reach us: pay a pound for a piece of chocolate and the cocoa grower will only get pennies. The rest will go on processing, packaging, distributing and promotion, work that is done here and benefits our economy, not those of the developing world. There are also rival labels, such as the Ethical Tea Partnership funded by 18 tea companies including Tetley and Twining. And the more logos, the more confusing it is for customers. Other economists question the level of awareness found among CEOs who seem to see corporate social responsibility programmes as a form of window-dressing. Others argue that Fairtrade products are still only a very small part of the market.

But even small changes are sending the right sort of messages. “There was a major shift in people's attitudes last year with Live 8 and the Make Poverty History campaigns,” says Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation. “They put the issues of global poverty firmly on the map. People wanted to be part of the movement in some way, whether it was watching a concert, wearing a wristband or lobbying their MP. It changed the backdrop against which we are all working. We need all world trade to be made fair, but in the meantime we can get on locally and show how it might be done.”

End of Recording

2- Essay Question

After listening to the tape, explain how Fair Trade works, its aims and specific actions. Give specific examples to illustrate your essay.

The article recapped much of what had been said in class. Papers were expected to mention AND explain- that it to say rephrase- the following points which are cursorily listed here:

- half of us = the British general public. The source was British.

- figures: 150 products in 2003/1,500 in 2006 bear the log - over a three-year period.

- Fair Trade has gone mainstream from a marginal concern/fad to a popular trend.

- the occasion for the article is a poll.

- a political assessment: fair trade vs free trade.

- a sound business venture (charity and profit).

- historical background since 1994 ( Oxfam/Camfod/charities) this raises the issue of philanthropy and capitalism.

- the process of certification : a licence.

- the criticism levelled at Fair Trade: they object to laissez-faire and free enterprise.

They promote a top down approach which tries to regulate wild cat capitalism (or predatory capitalism or unethical market forces).

the media hype has led to insignificant improvements.

Trade is still conducted to the detriment of Third World economies.

Rival logos weaken existing brands.

Tokenism.

- the onus is on the consumer and the business companies. They are expected to do the right thing and hereby contribute locally to the war against poverty.

Alas,

• Most papers did not understand the focus was on GB and on UK poll results (“us”). They did not mention the source ( The Independent , a left of center popular paper), the title and date of publication of the article in an appropriate manner.

• Most papers left out the notion of licence entirely. The licence is said to be issued by major foundations which guarantee that logo-bearing companies will comply with Fair Trade regulations.

• Most papers left out the opposition between fair trade and free trade. Students should have used background information from AN 221 economics classes to account for the difference between an approach which regulates trade by imposing ethical/economic criteria on consumers and producers alike AND a market-driven economy approach which claims it is counterproductive to impede market forces, overprotect the weaker producers and as a result stifle competition. In their eyes, the weaker growers who are less productive or competitive should be allowed to go out of business. In other terms, the opposition is pretty basic between the advocates of laissez-faire and the proponents of regulated capitalism.

• Only a few papers mentioned this meant that local governments and politicians or decisions makers are divested of their responsibility to fight against global poverty.The onus is on the consumer and on business who are both urged to make the right decision. This is a process of divestment.

Sample students' opinion questions:

Here are two essays written by students. They are presented because we hope they might help you assess what should be avoided at all costs and what should be attempted, which is equally crucial for your success. Rather expectedly, our concern is not to print major grammatical mistakes. Those have been corrected in bold capital letters but no other change has been made. Read and pay attention to what we pay attention to : the line of arguments, the relevance of the discourse in view of the question asked, the quality of the examples proffered, the use of class material, linguistic variety, etc.

Sample 1 :

The recording is an article of the Independent published ON MARCH 5th, 2006. It talks about Fair Trade. The title is « Fair Trade : Shopping with the conscience ». More than 50% of the British are able to recognise a Fair Trade product. We can say that Fair Trade can be a solution for poor countries. All Fair Trade products are MADE in poor countries because MANPOWER is CHEAPER. So, it ALLOWS to sell these products in rich countries and to make money for workers and for buyers. But, the problem is that this kind of trade penalizes quality products. Fair trade products can also be dangerous for health. For example, some toys are dangerous for the security of the babies and children.

To go against Fair Trade, an organization was created in the 1960s in THE Netherlands. This organization was created to protect workers and buyers of these products.

Everyone AGREES to fight against fair trade products but REALITY is not the same. Why ? because the level of lifeis very down and if we can have something CHEAPER.

According to some economists, not everyone is a winner. MONEY DOES NOT go to help but to encourage the development of fair trade.

They encourage women and children to work hard to make these products. With our well-being, we are destroying the well-being of poor people.

Even if there is a lot of control, it will be very difficult to make fair trade disappear.

The article show that the first product to be totally stopped by fair trade was chocolate in 1994. Marx and Spencer bought clothes from AFRICAN COUNTRIES because they have a lot of demand. The BEST way to help poor countries is not with fair trade but TO WORK with them.

292 words : the length is inadequate.

Note the clumsy listing of date/title and source.The date could be mentioned  together with the title- for example, something like:

« Fair Trade : Shopping with a Conscience » was published in a March 5th, 2006 article from The Independent .

Now see how disorganised the line of arguments is : there is no clear introduction, main part and conclusion. Sentences are isolated instead of being integrated into a coherent homogeneous whole.

Next, observe that the paper is disconnected from the meaning of the tape. Claiming that customers disapprove of Fair Trade products is a major misunderstanding (CS: contresens). So is the claim that Fair trade should be eliminated or that chocolate sales suffered from Fair Trade. No class example is given and the question asked remains unanswered.

Besides, look at the repetition of basic easy words : rich/poor, workers/ problem, babies/children, for/against, reality, help, difficult or dangerous. Words of Latin origin abound because they are closer to the student's native language.

Pay a closer look at the use of basic verbs like to talk/to say/go/work ; then at the dismal lack of modal verbs which are limited to can (no may / might / ought / had rather , etc.) ; to say nothing of the appallingly mistaken choice of verbal forms ( make/made ) or irregular verbs.

Finally, the use of « we » is irrelevant since it implies the student has this high moral ground and lectures the rest of the world about « our » crimes (we are too rich, we destroy the world, we take advantage of the poor, we get it all wrong, we don't do the right thing, etc).

The point is not to preach the truth but to explain what the tape meant and how it can be accounted for.

This essay was deemed sub-standard and received a failing mark ( 04/20).

Sample 2 :

The article entitled « Fair Trade : Shopping with a Conscience » and published in The Independent in March 2006 discusses Fair Trade. This notion is also known as Ethics in Trade. We are told it has been gaining ground in the UK ever since its beginning in Holland in the early 1990s. To define it one might stress that Fair Trade is a direct form of trading that allows companies to deal directly with local producers and cooperatives thus avoiding middle men who usually cheat them by underweighing bags, rigging scales and exploiting local growers. In contrast, Fair Trade guarantees a fixed price for crops, regardless of the fluctuations of world market prices. It has recently become so very popular that according to a recent poll carried out in Great Britain, half of the British consumers are aware of the Fair Trade logo and such famous brands as Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury (along 16 other companies) have gone for Fair Trade goods.

Its aim is to fight poverty mainly in Third World countries. Fair Trade promotes fair means of trading and it increases international aid as the leader of the Conservative Party Mr Cameron put it. How does this work ? Well, Fair Trade cooperatives pledge to comply with certain standards like not using chemicals or pesticides, keeping clean water supplies, wuilding schools or medical centers and banning child labor. Once all these criteria are met with, then the products are certified and licensed. They are thus sold at a higher price. Licences are issued by the Fair Trade Foundation run by Oxfm, founded in 1994 after the release of the first Fair Trade chocolate bars. The point was to do good business that worked for farmers who are no longer taken advantage of ; good business that worked for the public whose growing concerns about the origin of goods consumed are answered ; and good business that worked for companies which take social responsibility and live with a clear conscience.

Now, the article points out that although many people back Fair Trade, some economists claim that not all the three parties benefit from it. According to them, the Fair Trade scheme boosts markerts that should be allowed to collapse or adapt to the economy. Producers who are urged to sink or swim get only pennies out of all the money actually made to boost our sales by financing processing, packaging, distribution and commercialization. The target economies get little out of it.

Moreover, CEOs see corporate social responsibility as a mask put on to disguise capitalism and make it more palatable. Others question consumers' level of awareness. Fair Trade is thus a burning if nettlesome issue. To prove this, the Executive Director of the Fair Trade Foundation stressess the major shift in people's attitudes in 2005. People used to be part of the movement by attending concerts, wearing wristbands or lobbying their MPs. Now, they are health conscious and feel concern for the living standard of poor people. World Trade ought to be made fair in their estimate. It is high time some change took place. These changes are up to consumers basically and only we can make this world a better place to live in.

Sure enough, the essay is a bit too long (488 words) but it was written within the limits of the exam paper and it has some very strong points: the lay out is visually explicit, the line of arguments is clear and straightforward, there is not tiresome repetition of the same points- once they are made, the paper moves on.

The contents fit the tape which is accounted for even if some minor piece of information proving the understanding of the tape are missing. The linguistic variety is refreshing.

You probably recognised bits and pieces from class documents and this is quite good. As a matter of fact, this is how we know you attended classes on an attentive basis and actually learned from them. Attending classes as part of an audience is not good enough. Memorising and using ONLY relevant class material is what you are expected to do.

This paper is clear, to the point. It answered the question asked. It got an A (17/20).

Crib notes?

Something should be added here: a paper which would simply thread together sentences jotted down from classes, no matter how good those sentences are, will be failed if what is said is not connected to the tape AND the question.

A last point, as of June 2006, opinion questions will be called essay questions as we found that students wrongly assumed the word opinion meant they were free to waffle on regardless of the contents of the tape or of the question asked.

Calling it an essay is meant to drive this message home, essays should account for the specific contents of the tape in light of the question asked. Both need to be worked through.

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Fairtrade: Shopping with a Conscience

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Fairtrade: Shopping with a Conscience