Since the first fair trade label was introduced in 1988, the movement has been working to improve the lives of producers around the world. But with economic uncertainty, and a raging global pandemic, there's still a long way to go.

The fair trade movement is working towards a future where farmers, artisans and workers enjoy more value from their products and earn a “sustainable, dignified livelihood”; the movement aims to empower men and women and help workers, especially farmers deal with the effects of climate change.

Women work to produce 60-80 percent of the world’s food, yet the number of women living below the poverty line has increased by 50 percent since the 1970s. About 168 million boys and girls around the world are engaged in child labour, mostly in agriculture.

“Artisanal mining, while producing the most highly priced precious metals, remains one of the most dangerous and poorly rewarded jobs in the world.”

To combat this, the fair trade movement is focusing on eight of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: end hunger; achieve gender equality; decent work and economic growth; reduce inequality; sustainable consumption and production; urgent action on climate change; promote peace and justice; develop partnerships to help reach the goals.

Drawing on these goals, on the occasion of this Labour Day, we pledge the following: 

FOCUS ON IMPACT

This includes empowering our artisans; a living wage for all handicraft artisans and producers; improved productivity and organisation for the cooperatives we work with, including ensuring Health and Safety provisions; improved workers’ rights and welfare for all our workers in the Atlas region.

MAKE FAIRTRADE PERSONAL

The strategy aims to move the public to act against unfair trading practices by raising awareness. We will continue to work with policymakers and the media to amplify the voices of artisans and workers, and with our global partners, such as Label STEP, to rigorously measure and evaluate its impact, building on what works and changing what doesn’t.

BUILD A STRONG ORGANISATION

Jurande will continue to work with cooperative networks in Morocco to deliver more services locally, channelling power back into the hands of artisans and workers, with more investment in artisan empowerment and education.

Think, how incredible would it be if in five years we can say that the principles of equity, inclusiveness and transparency, along with respect for human and environmental rights and a commitment to fair pay, have been embedded in the way businesses operate, especially in a place like Morocco where such practices aren't common practice at all. 

We care deeply about people and the planet. Working towards fairness for all and sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Jurande.

Fair trade is about ending poverty through helping artisans to get better prices, decent working conditions, sustainable livelihoods, and fairer terms of trade. By enabling companies to pay fair and sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Jurande addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which often discriminates against the poorest, most marginalised members of society. 

For us, #thefutureisfairtrade.