Le débat du "New Internationalist"

Le New Internationalist a lancé un débat sur l'avenir du commerce équitable, auquel plusieurs acteurs ont réagi. Voici le petit article qui lance la discussion, mais n'hésitez pas à suivre le lien pour lire la suite !!

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Have your say... on the future of fair trade

Submitted by New Internationalist on October 23, 2006 - 3:12pm.

Fair trade business is booming across the Western world, which can only be good news for the millions of poor farmers struggling to survive in the face of collapsing commodity prices and ruthless multinationals, right? Maybe, but as fair trade goes mainstream, formerly-clear distinctions about who really benefits are getting blurry.

Nestlé – until recently the fair trade movement’s most vehement detractor - has been awarded the fair trade mark for its ‘Partner’s Blend’ coffee. Supermarkets are bringing out own-brand fair trade lines in direct competition with the pioneering fair trade companies who allow producers a say in how they are run and a share of the profits. ‘Ethical’ companies who’ve made their name by doing business differently are being bought up by the same old dominant transnationals. Ultimately, fair trade producers are still tied into supplying low-value raw commodities to Western companies who capture most of the value further down the supply chain. So how much is fair trade really challenging the unfair dynamics of the global economy?

The dilemmas thrown up by its extraordinary success are sparking major debates within the fair trade movement. Should big business be allowed to benefit from being associated with the fair trade brand when the majority of their operations remain as exploitative as ever? Is this a foot in the door that will herald a revolution in the way the corporate big boys conduct their business, or a kick in the teeth for a movement that started out to create a radical alternative to the carnage caused by the free market?

Has anyone asked the farmers, some of whom are starting to feel marginalised within their own system? What about the environment: should we really be importing fair trade roses grown in huge hothouses next to Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, sucking up precious water resources and then being air-freighted to Northern supermarkets?

The NI wants to encourage everyone who cares about making the economic relationships between rich and poor fairer to engage with this debate. What do you think about the future of fair trade? Have your say...
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http://interact.newint.org/have-your-say-on-the-future-of-fair-trade