Fair Trade must remember Europe

This World Fair Trade Day, 12th May, we would like to bring some focus on Europe’s poorest country, Georgia.

Most consumers in western countries first and foremost associate Fair Trade with ethically responsible production of food, e.g. coffee and bananas, in some of the world’s poorest countries in Africa, South America and Asia.

But Fair Trade is much more than that. Fair Trade is also involved in the European production of Christmas Trees, which is collectively a billion dollar business. Here we need to put in a special effort in Georgia, Europe’s poorest country, where every year many tons of Christmas tree seeds are collected.

“It is important to let people know that Fair Trade is not only about sustainability and wage and working conditions in Africa and Asia. There is also a battle to be fought in Europe”, says Marianne Bols, owner of Bols Forstplanteskole, who, five years ago, introduced a new way of producing Christmas trees under the name Fair Trees.

The new concept is certified by Fair Trade Denmark and is based on the 10 central principles of Fair Trade. Among other things, Fair Trees guarantees a fair wage for poor Georgian cone pickers, as well as proper safety gear when they climb to a height of 30 metres to collect cones.

Investing in GeorgiaFor every Christmas tree sold Bols Forstplanteskole donates a part of the money to investment in the local area of Georgia where seeds are gathered. On World Fair Trade Day more than 600 children in the region of Ambrolauri can look forward to a visit to the dentist and medical examinations in mobile medical clinics. Furthermore, a donation of £10,000 will go toward a renovation of the local school, and the children will receive school bags with writing implements and paper.

“As a western producer we have a responsibility for ensuring that the countries we work and trade with are developing. By contributing to schooling and education in Georgia, we are helping to secure ways for the countries to conduct sound business in the future – which in turn will benefit us in the West”, says Marianne Bols.

“Fair Trade is not simply a matter of the manufacturers donating a bag of money. We have to constantly look at how we are able to further business and create production forms and deals to the advantage of both the environment and people working in the Christmas tree business”, Marianne Bols concludes.

FACTS: Christmas tree production and Fair Trees®More than 80% of Christmas trees sold in Europe are based on seeds from the Ambrolauri-Tlugi province in Georgia. Fair Trees owns 25% of the harvest rights in Tlugi proportional to 16 tons of seeds.

Fair Trees® is a concept developed under Fair Trade Denmark with the aim of ensuring a sustainable production, decent wage and working conditions, while at the same time focusing on quality.  Fair Trees® makes use of impartial, outside auditing to control working conditions, cone picking and production. Fair Trees® is a member of WFTO.

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction

As the first Christmas tree grower on a global scale, Bols Forstplanteskole has succeeded in achieving membership in the worldwide World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO).

Although most people have removed the Christmas tree decorations and scrapped the tree by now, Christmas is not over yet in Central Jutland. Bols Forstplanteskole has just achieved a much-coveted membership in the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). The achieved membership is a result of the nursery’s long-term focus on improved working conditions and sustainable production of Christmas trees.

“Under the concept of Fair Trees®, we’ve worked hard for many years to improve working and security conditions among the poor Georgian cone pickers, who collect seeds for the European Christmas tree production under perilous conditions,” says Marianne Bols, proprietor of Bols Forstplanteskole.

So far, Fair Trees has been authorised through Fair Trade Denmark, of which Fair Trees is however still a member. Nevertheless, Marianne Bols makes it abundantly clear that the newly-achieved membership, which has been in the pipeline for two years, is a seal of approval that opens the way to future development. This membership is the fi rst of its kind in the Christmas tree business on a global scale.

“There is no doubt that it is of great importance to us to be endorsed by the world’s oldest Fair Trade organisation. It is a well-known logo around the world, and a logo that opens up new export opportunities,” says Marianne Bols, who adds:

“But first and foremost the membership emphasises the importance of the fact that we will continue our work in Georgia and intensify our demands in order to ensure ongoing sustainable Christmas tree production.”

FACTS: Christmas Tree Production and Fair Trees®
More than 80% of the Christmas trees sold in Europe are based on seeds from Ambrolauri-Tlugi provenance in Georgia. Today, Fair Trees has 25 percent of the harvest rights in Tlugi, corresponding to sixteen tons of seeds.

Fair Trees is a concept developed under Fair Trade Denmark, ensuring sustainable production and decent standards of wages and terms of employment. Fair Trees makes use of third-part auditing to inspect working conditions and the gathering and production of cones. Today, Fair Trees is a member of WFTO.

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more