Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Have you ever wondered where real Christmas trees come from? No doubt at that hectic time of year you don’t have time to give it a second thought.

But if you knew that the most popular kind of tree, the Nordmann Fir tree, started life in a remote area of Georgia (formerly part of USSR) and that people are injured or even die so that we can decorate a tree for a few days, maybe you would start thinking?

The Nordmann Fir tree (or the “non-drop tree”) is a high quality tree that keeps its needles well and has a lovely symmetrical, bushy shape.  These great qualities have made it increasingly popular and now about 5 million a year are sold in the UK alone. These trees are farmed, but they can only be grown using seed sourced from the natural forests of Georgia – the seed can’t be farmed to a high enough quality, even if the farmer can wait many years for a tree to produce enough seed cones.

Every September the seeds are harvested by the local people in the Ambrolauri region of Georgia, a remote and poor area of a poor developing country. These people, or “cone pickers” are mainly subsistence farmers living high up in the mountains who have little or no income all year until the seed harvest comes round. They then climb 30 metre high trees to pick the seed cones – without safety equipment, ropes or health insurance – and are paid a pittance. Every year someone is injured and there have been deaths too. The seeds are then sold off to farms in Europe where the trees are grown for huge profits, often using illegal immigrant labour and with little regard for the environment.

But things are starting to change thanks to the only fair trade certified (WFTO) real Christmas trees in the world. Set up by Danish Christmas tree grower Bols Forstplanteskole, Fair Trees® sources its own seeds from Ambrolauri using fair trade principles. All of the Fair Trees® cone pickers are paid a fair wage and are provided with modern safety equipment and health insurance. Fair Trees® has also set up a charitable fund in Georgia called The Bols Xmas Tree Fund to help the cone picking community. So far the Fund has provided dental care and health insurance for the local children and invested in community projects. Fairwind, along with an insurance repairs business called MAAssist, is currently raising £10,000 for the Fund to renovate the local school in Tlugi which is in a desperate state.

Fair Trees® not only grows ethical trees, but it is also campaigning to get Christmas tree growers to change their ways and to join the Fair Trees® programme which sets out clear ethical and environmental requirements.

Fair Trees® are for sale this year at www.fairwindonline.com. For more information please go to www.fairwindonline.com or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/114553318582105/ or www.fairtrees.co.uk. To see a video of the cone pickers go to http://www.bolsxmastreefund.com/video-en.php

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

This Christmas the serious ethical issues surrounding the Christmas tree industry are being brought to the attention of the public in the UK. The UK campaign is being lead by Fairwind, a leading fair trade retailer and importer and there are BBC documentaries and news items being aired on TV and radio in early December 2010. MAAssist is proud to be the first UK business, outside of the fair trade community, to financially support this campaign.

Fair Trees® – fair trade real Nordmann Fir Christmas trees

About 5 million Nordmann Fir Christmas trees are sold in the UK each year. But until now, very few people in the UK have been aware of the serious ethical issues behind buying these trees at Christmas. Although they are farmed in the UK and Denmark the seeds for Nordmann Firs are sourced from natural forests, mainly in Georgia.

Harvesting of the seeds in Georgia is carried out by hand under remarkably primitive conditions. The Georgian cone pickers climb up 30 metre high fir trees in order to reach the seeds. Until now, they have worked entirely without safety equipment and in 2004 two workers fell to their death during the harvest. Several accidents happen each year, but despite working in such dangerous conditions the cone pickers are usually paid such low wages that it is difficult for them to support their families.

A Danish Christmas tree grower called Bols Forstplanteskole is changing all of that. Bols source their own seeds from Georgia using fair trade principles, and in 2007 was awarded fair trade accreditation by Fair Trade Danmark – Bols is the only Christmas tree grower in the world with fair trade accreditation. In 2011 Bols will have full accreditation by the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO). Not only does Bols pay a fair wage and provide health insurance to the cone pickers but proceeds from the sale of Fair Seeds and Fair Trees® are donated to the Bols Xmas Tree Fund, a charitable fund based in Georgia.

The Bols Xmas Tree Fund aims to create awareness about and improve the terrible conditions under which the Georgian cone pickers live and work. The Fund provides the cone pickers with Danish-made safety equipment and ensures that the workers are instructed on safety. In addition, the Fund works towards creating proper conditions for workers and their families through financial support for hospitals, schools, books and health care.

MAAssist fundraising

MAAssist will set aside £1 for every claim with value received from 1^st January 2011 for the Fair Trees® project.

MAAssist will also welcome support from any insurance clients who are willing to make a donation to the Fund. In return for such a donation, the insurance client will be able to use the Fair Trees® name in any corporate social responsibility and marketing promotional material.

MAAssist staff will also be carrying out various fund raising activities in 2011.

A team of tradesmen will go to Georgia in August/September 2011 to renovate the local school in the cone picking region of Ambrolauri.

Contacts – further information

If you would like to be involved in the Fair Trees® fundraising activities for 2011, or would like more information, please contact:

Teresa Owen, Fairwind

Email: t.owen@fairwindonline.com

Tel: 0845 196 0256

 or

 Paul Hayman, MAAssist

Email: Paul.Hayman@maassist.com

Tel: 01296 678100

Fairwind

This innovative company is owned and run by Teresa Owen. Fairwind is a thriving online business that is passionate about fair trade and providing affordable, quality fair trade gifts and accessories from around the world.

In 2007, Fairwind was shortlisted for an Observer Ethical Award and is a member of the British Association for Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS) – visit www.bafts.org.uk for more information.

Fairwind sells gifts, home accessories and textiles, jewellery, children’s toys, candles and garden accessories. To see Fairwind’s full range, or for further information, visit www.fairwindonline.com or phone 0845 196 0256.

High-resolution images of all products are available and in most cases also cut-out images – they can be downloaded from http://www.fairwindonline.com/resources.asp.

MAAssist

MAAssist Limited specialises in domestic building repairs on behalf of some of the UK’s largest insurers and property related markets, using its in-house construction company MABuild Limited, supported by a nationwide network of trade professional companies, creating an established Building Repair Network (BRN) and Control Centre function for its clients.

With its niche range of products and services MAAssist has consistently helped insurers and property portfolio managers to materially reduce their claims management, claims settlement and budgeted spend and expenditure, through correct building claims validation and delivery of quality building works.

And MAAssist’s ability to settle and fulfill buildings claims, and offer customers and clients a real choice in their preferred method of claims settlement, enables them to consistently deliver a positive claims experience. For more information please go to www.magroupltd.co.uk

Bols Forstplanteskole

Established in 1989 by Marianne and Lars H. Bols, Bols Forstplanteskole has always been an innovator in the Christmas tree industry. Although both Marianne and Lars were studying at the time, they were excited by the forestry industry and by the challenges of supplying top quality products with the right provenances.

Their first business trip was to Georgia, in 1989, to buy 8 tons of Nordmann Fir seeds. As Georgia was then still part of the USSR, it was a long, tough battle to get the seeds and have them shipped to Denmark. But it was the start of a minor revolution in raising the quality of the Christmas trees coming onto the market. Marianne and Lars were moved by the generosity and warmth shown to them by the Georgian farmers: “Even though they were poor, they invited us in and many of them remain close friends. They were also one of the main reasons why we continue to collect seeds from Georgia.” Another reason for continuing to do business in Georgia, despite the many obstacles, is that the Nordmann Fir seeds obtainable there are simply the best in the world.

Apart from providing a full-spectrum catalogue of plant and trees to a broad multinational market, Bols’ more recent initiatives include organic and fair trade products: www.fairtrees.co.uk

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Fairwind is now taking orders for the only fairly traded Christmas trees (“Fair Trees®”) in the UK this year. They are available nationwide from www.fairwindonline.com and will be delivered in the week beginning 6th December.

The BBC, with help from Fairwind, has filmed a documentary on the serious ethical issues around Christmas trees. This will be aired in early December on TV and radio, so Fair Trees® will be a hot topic this Christmas.

Fair Trees® has celebrity support from Katie Melua:
“I am absolutely thrilled that fair trade has reached the poor cone pickers of Georgia. Fair Trees® is a wonderful project that helps improve the lives of many people in remote areas of Georgia, the country where I was born.”

Nordmann Fir trees

The trees are genuine Nordmann Fir trees of exceptional quality, grown using the best and ethically sourced seeds. They retain their needles exceptionally well and are no more expensive than other Nordmann Fir trees.

Retail prices this year will be £25 for a tree up to 4ft (100-125cm), £29 for a tree up to 5ft (130-150cm) and £37 for a tree up to 6ft (150-175cm).

And this year Fairwind is also selling Baby Fair Trees – potted Nordmann Fir trees that are only 80 -90cm high (including the pot). These eco-friendly trees are perfect for the porch or a child’s bedroom and after Christmas they can be planted out in the garden and reused year after year. Not only are these trees fair trade, but they help reduce CO2 emissions and the waste that is created at Christmas time. Retailing at £29 each, these cute trees are perfect for homes and rooms with little space.

Ethical issue

About 5 million Nordmann Fir Christmas trees are sold in the UK each year. But until now very few people in the UK have been aware of the serious ethical issues behind buying these trees at Christmas.

The seeds for Nordmann Firs are sourced from natural forests, mainly in Georgia (the seeds can’t be farmed satisfactorily). Harvesting of the seeds in Georgia is carried out by hand under remarkably primitive conditions. The Georgian cone pickers climb up 30 metre high fir trees in order to reach the seeds. They work entirely without safety equipment and in 2004 two workers fell to their death during the harvest. Several accidents happen each year, but despite working in such dangerous conditions the cone pickers are usually paid such low wages that it is difficult for them to support their families. They also have no insurance so any injuries seriously affect their already limited ability to support their families.

Fair Trees® campaign in the UK

Fairwind is campaigning to persuade UK growers to tackle the ethical issues that arise throughout the supply chain (from the Georgian cone pickers, to the migrant labour on UK farms and the environmental impact of farming trees) by converting their trees to Fair Trees®. Any publication wishing to support this campaign should get in touch with Teresa Owen at Fairwind.

Fair Trees® aims to bring together all of the members of the Christmas tree industry to promote socially responsible trade and production. Fair Trees®, through the Bols Xmas Tree Fund (see below):

•invests in providing safety equipment for the cone gatherers in Georgia;
•provides health care for the workers’ children;
•supports decent schools in which to educate the children;
•looks towards a future when cloning makes seed harvesting unnecessary;
•helps finding alternative work.

If any grower can commit to the following 3 initiatives they can use the Fair Trees® branding, and sell their trees as fair trade trees, in return for donations to the Bols Xmas Tree Fund.

To become a Fair Trees® producer a grower needs to:
1. Commit to growing fair trade Christmas trees and start sourcing fair trade seeds and/or saplings.
2. Cooperate with local unions for fair working conditions and fair wage agreements for all employees in the Christmas tree industry.
3. Work towards Global GAP (responsible farming) approval.

Why Global GAP and unions? Fair Trees® is more that a marketing ploy, it is a genuine social venture that covers all areas of production, nationally and internationally

Fairwind in partnership with Bols Forstplanteskole

Fairwind is currently the only importer and retailer of Fair Trees® (fair trade Nordmann Fir Christmas trees grown in Denmark) in the UK. The trees are supplied by Bols Forstplanteskole, a successful Danish Christmas tree grower that achieved Danish fair trade accreditation in 2007 and will become a full member of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) next year. Bols Forstplanteskole is the brains behind the Fair Trees® scheme.

Any grower can become a Fair Trees® grower by simply complying with the terms of the Fair Trees® scheme (above).

Danish fair trade accreditation – The Bols Xmas Tree Fund

The Bols Xmas Tree Fund was founded in 2007, and shortly afterwards the Fair Trees® brand was certified by Fair Trade Danmark and will have full WFTO certification in 2011.

The Fund aims to create awareness about and improve the terrible conditions under which the Georgian cone pickers live and work. The Fund provides the cone pickers with Danish-made safety equipment and ensures that the workers are instructed on safety. In addition, the Fund works towards creating proper conditions for workers and their families through financial support for schools, books and health care. And of course the workers are paid a fair price for their work and are insured against death or injury.

Fair trade Christmas decorations

And no fair trade Christmas tree would be complete without fairly traded Christmas decorations. Fairwind’s range of stunning silk tree decorations are wonderful and unusual gifts or stocking fillers handmade by polio and landmine survivors in Cambodia. Made by hand with exceptional attention to quality and detail, the range includes stars, hearts, reindeer, rocking horses and even elephants. With prices starting at £2.50, these ethical tree decorations are always popular. Lifestyle AND cutout shots of all of the decorations can be downloaded from Fairwind’s website at http://www.fairwindonline.com/resources.asp No log-in required.

For more information please contact:

Teresa Owen
Fairwind
t.owen@fairwindonline.com
T: 0845 196 0256
M: 07824 319701

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Please support our campaign to make real Christmas Trees fair trade

Christmas may seem a long way off, but here at Fairwind we have been campaigning all year to persuade growers and retailers in the UK to start selling fair trade Christmas trees this Christmas.

 We are making good progress but we need your help!

Every year many people in Georgia are injured or killed picking the cones needed to  extract the seeds to grow the UK’s most popular real Christmas tree, the Nordmann Fir.

Fairwind is working with the ONLY supplier of fair trade seeds and trees to bring “Fair Trees®” to the UK.

And here is where you can help:

 1. Join our Facebook campaign

CLICK THE FACEBOOK BUTTON!

2. Email/write to your local garden centre, Christmas tree farm or Homebase or B&Q

 Homebase and B&Q are the largest retailers of real Christmas trees and  here are their email addresses:

socialresponsibility@b-and-q.co.uk

info@homebase.co.uk

 3. Forward this email on to your friends, colleagues and family and get them supporting the campaign

We already have celebrity support from Katie Melua

Now we need your support!

And with a bit of luck you will be seeing this label on your Christmas tree this year!

 Thank you

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

From our blog at http://ecofriendlygreenproducts.co.uk

With Christmas fast approaching, I’m starting to angst over those few people who are impossible to buy for.  You know the type – we’ve all got at least one in the family.

In our family, there’s one particular chap who’s frankly so much better off than us that there’s nothing we could buy for him that he hasn’t bought for himself already (twice, with bells on).  And another who’s not financially rich but spiritually so, and therefore also wants for very little (despite not having all that much).

Over the next twelve months, Wikaniko plans to plant 10,000 trees in Africa.  We are retailing them for under a fiver.  They are a much better stocking filler than socks.  Frankly, you should buy one for that person who’s impossible to buy for.

When that look of mild interest in what their Christmas present might be fades to nothingness (again) then at least you can get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing you did something good for the planet, your children, heck – their children (!), and the local villagers who benefit massively from this managed forestry project.

I’m not much interested in hearing the usual “I’d rather help someone in the UK / charity starts at home” nonsense.  As yet, I don’t believe there’s a way to segregate the air we breathe so us wealthier Westerners get the lion’s share.  Planting a tree in Africa directly benefits you.

Aside from the fact that planting 5 trees could go someway to offsetting your carbon footprint, there’s also some rather compelling reasons why it’s better to plant trees in Africa.

Trees grow three times faster in Africa than in the UK so they will help our environment much faster: we will see results in our lifetime.

The trees are used both to provide a wage for poor people in villages and to help sustain the villages with produce, firewood and materials for building etc – so the world gets a lot more benefit than simply planting a tree to help reduce carbon emissions!

The trees improve living standards for families, and the local economies. The tree planting helps them generate a sustainable income from food, medicines and shelter.

Trees allow vegetation and other growth to survive in harsh conditions by retaining water in the soil and providing shelter from direct sunlight etc. Trees can, if managed correctly, provide a massive range of unexpected benefits and natural resources including medication which can be used locally and sold throughout the world.

Need I say more?

Whilst writing this, I’ve decided to wrap my family’s Christmas gifts in pages from the free newspapers that come through our door each week and buy everyone a tree with the money I will save on gift wrap.  You are welcome to join me!

If you would like to know more, please feel free to get in touch.

To visit my Wikaniko shop: please click here

For more information on becoming a distributor: please click here

EcoLike.Me is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

MoreEco has joined the Green Christmas Appeal campaign which will plant 100,000 trees and supply 50,000 African children with computer equipment.

You can get involved through their unique gift ideas. The Green Christmas Appeal plants native broad leaf trees such as oak, beech and ash.

These are the species which are known to best promote biodiversity. Most are ‘cell-grown whips’ – small saplings between 0.5m and 1m in height. When planted at the correct time of year, these whips establish very easily and grow vigorously.

They are very easy to plant and many of their trees are planted by children.

Each of these trees will remove a ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the enviroment and return clean oxygen.

Use offer code ‘moreeco’ at Green Christmas Appeal checkout to track purchase and to receive a 25% discount.

MoreEco is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Yes, you can now chose your design of gift certificate online for trees you have planted. If you want to plant trees to help the environment, you can do that as a gift and the gift cards can fit inside christmas cards or be sent on their own. The million tree campaign has many designs and if you are a business they can customise ones for you to give to employees or customers. It is organised through sponsortrees.com

Environmental Partnerships Ltd is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Background

Over 5 million Nordmann Fir real Christmas trees are sold in the UK each year. About 90% of the seeds for Nordmann Fir Christmas trees are sourced from the natural forests in Georgia through an auction system that is corrupt and generates hardly any income for the cone pickers.

The best seeds come from an area called Ambrolauri. Cone pickers climb 30 metre high fir trees to collect the cones from which the seeds are hand-picked. The cone and seed collectors live in desperately poor conditions with little access to healthcare or education for their children. Local infrastructure in this poverty-stricken and sorely neglected area means that schools are few and far between, and those that do exist are hardly heated in winter, have very few books and many don’t even have doors.

Real life tragic stories

The cone pickers work without any safety equipment, not even ropes. It is not uncommon for collectors to fall out of the trees and die. Here are some sad stories about just a few people from the Ambrolauri area (there are many more!).

• Anna Khedeliana lost her husband Giorgi Enukidze in 2001 whilst he was working for a company harvesting seeds in Tlugi. He climbed up a tall tree which had previously been trimmed at the top in order to make the harvesting easier. When he reached the weakened top it was not able to hold him and both he and the top plummeted to the ground. Giorgi Enukidze was 49 years old and left a wife and three children behind when he died. Since the family had no insurance they were placed in a grave predicament by the death of the husband and father. The state pays only a small annuity as long as the children are under eighteen. The Georgian seed company paid for the funeral and Anna continues to collect seeds for the same company and is still without safety equipment. Her own son has collected 1 ton of cones so far this year.
• Levan Kobakhidze only lived to 16 years of age. His school was closed due to the civil war, and wanting to help his family in Tbilisi, he began working with some friends in the forest. In 1993 while harvesting cones in Tlugi, he fell from a great height when attempting to jump from one tree to another. There was no compensation or insurance. The family barely managed to pay for the funeral, and were unable to give him a proper burial lot. After his son’s death, the father subsequently suffered depression and committed suicide a few years later. He left behind his wife Leila Kobakhidze and his twin daughters, Tea and Teona.
• In 1994 Gaga Namgaladze attempted to jump from one tree to another. Upon landing in a tree, the top snapped and Gaga Namgaladze plunged to the ground and died. He was 26 years old. Gaga Namgaladze left behind a wife and a two-year-old daughter. There was no insurance nor compensation from the state. Together with the rest of his relatives, Gaga’s brother Rati Namgaladze had to help the unfortunate family.

Danish fair trade accreditation – The Bols Xmas Tree Fund

Only one company is currently providing safety equipment, training AND insurance to the workers there; Bols Forstplanteskole grows the only fair trade Christmas trees in the world.

The Bols Xmas Tree Fund was founded in 2007, and shortly afterwards the Fair Trees® brand was certified by Fair Trade Danmark.

The Fund aims to create awareness about and improve the terrible conditions under which the Georgian cone pickers live and work. The Fund provides the cone pickers with Danish-made safety equipment and ensures that the workers are instructed on safety. In addition, the Fund works towards creating proper conditions for workers and their families through financial support for schools, books and health care. And of course the workers are paid a fair price for their work.

And only one company in the UK is importing and retailing these trees; Fairwind. The trees are now available to order from www.fairwindonline.com. 

Katie Melua

The British Georgia-born singer, Katie Melua, has pledged support for the fair trade Christmas trees project:

 “I am absolutely thrilled that fair trade has reached the poor cone pickers of Georgia. Fair Trees® is a wonderful project that helps improve the lives of many people in remote areas of Georgia, the country where I was born. I urge anyone who loves a real Christmas tree to buy a fair trade one this year – after all, it won’t cost any more than a non-fair trade tree”.

For more information please contact:

Teresa Owen                      Marianne Bols

Fairwind                             Bols Forstplanteskole

t.owen@fairwindonline.com   mb@bolsforst.dk

T: 020 8374 6254              T: 00 45 75760043

Fairwind is an active member of Ethical Junction, learn more

Angel tree decoration £9.50
This gorgeous Christmas tree decoration makes a great, ethical gift. It
is a fair trade product that has been handmade using glass and acrylic
beads. £1 from the sale of every angel goes to the Midlands Trauma and
Crisis Centre in South Africa. 6cm x 6cm. Available in gold, red and
silver.

Silk rocking horse £6
This is a gorgeous red silk tree decoration that is a bit different
from the usual tree decorations. It is handmade by polio and landmine
survivors in Cambodia and made using 100% Cambodian silk. Hand sewn
sequins and detailing make this a gorgeous decoration for your tree.
11cm x 3cm x 11cm

Star tree decoration gift box £12
Traditional Christmas stars for the tree but handmade using Cambodian
silk by polio and landmine survivors in Cambodia. They come as a set of
six (three of each colour) in a stylish gift box and have hand-sewn
sequins and decorative stitching. Available in cream & gold and
cream & red. Each star 7cm x 2cm x 7cm.