Kiwis love bananas! So much so that as a country New Zealand imports the highest per capita amount of bananas in the world. But did you know that the majority of banana plantation workers do not earn enough to live and support their families? Some earn less than $3 a day.
Farmers struggle to cover their cost of production whilst trying to compete with large scale plantations owned by a small number of multinational corporations who dominate the global banana trade, controlling both the markets and prices. However, Fairtrade makes a world of difference - minimum prices are calculated to at least cover average local costs of production which can be double what producers would normally receive.
New Zealand has now joined the Fairtrade banana revolution! Fairtrade bananas are currently available only in a select few number of supermarkets. Help us show the supermarket chains that we want them all over NZ by spreading the word and going bananas for Fairtrade.
Join the email campaign: Sign up to get your voice heard and let the supermarkets know that you want to see Fairtrade bananas in your local store.
Well’ continues Hayden, fair trade is when companies buy goods such as cotton, tea, cocoa and coffee beans, and also craft items such as clothing, baskets, jewellery etc, from producers in places such as Africa, Asia and South America for a fair and consistent price. It also works to protect workers rights by preventing the use of harmful sprays around crops, increasing safe working conditions, and decreasing the numbers of child workers.’
Yes, I’m afraid so. The majority of the world live in developing countries yet it is the small percentage of the world’s population that live in developed countries (like us!) that have contributed most to this global problem. What people need to be think about Molly is how unfair is it that developing countries who are already losing out by unfair trade rules, will be expected to foot more than their fair share of the climate change bill. Realising this encourages us to think about how we can reduce our carbon footprint and reminds us how important it is to support fair trade. Throughout the Fortnight there will be loads of activities, competitions and events will be run all over the country. There’s more information at www.tradeaid.co.nz or www.fairtrade.org.nz.
Human trafficking is the movement or sale of people by others (called traffickers), often through the use of force, threats and violence, and with the purpose of exploiting the victim. It affects every continent and most countries, with approximately 2.5 million people trafficked every year.
Living in poverty greatly increases your chance of being a victim of human trafficking. People who are struggling to survive and don’t have a lot of money are desperate for a way out and traffickers can, and do, exploit this, offering false promises of money and good jobs. Men and women who lack better options locally are persuaded by the prospect of better jobs in other regions or countries and agree to migrate. Parents may be offered a brighter and better life for their children, who they cannot afford to look after anyway, so they sell their children, hoping for a better future for them. Orphans are sold by orphanages to traffickers and sometimes children off the street are simply taken.
Victims of human trafficking become slaves and are forced to do things such as hard physical labour, prostitution, become mail-order brides, work in the military forces (e.g.child soldiers), become domestic workers, fish in dangerous areas or work in factories or sweat shops.
But we HAVE to think about it, because it affects us all. Even here in Aotearoa New Zealand. The globalisation process which makes trafficking easier, also means that products made by the victims could easily find their way onto your table, or into your wardrobe, through the chocolate you eat or the shoes you walk in. You may be contributing to the problem without even knowing it.