September 26, 2018
Ryan Fletcher 202-641-0277
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Lauren Stansbury 402-540-1208
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Dr. Bronner’s and Fair World Project, Together, Join More than 300 Organizations in Support of New International Fair Trade Charter
Fair Trade Charter Outlines Vision for Transformation of Global Trade to Achieve Justice, Equity, and Sustainability for People and Planet
PORTLAND, OR – Today, Dr. Bronner’s, family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America, in solidarity and partnership with leading fair trade advocacy group, Fair World Project, joins more than 300 organizations uniting around the world to support the launch of the International Fair Trade Charter. The charter underscores the fundamental values of the fair trade movement and defines a common vision for a world in which justice, equity, and sustainable development are at the heart of trade structures, business models, and economic practices so that everyone can maintain a decent and dignified livelihood. To read the International Fair Trade Charter, go to: https://www.fair-trade.website/the-charter-1.
“The International Fair Trade Charter charts a course for the future of fair trade,” explains David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner’s. “Our company has always put people and the planet before profit. It is critical that all of us who use business to work toward a more fair and just economy encourage broader participation and engagement in the global movement for fair trade. This charter is an important means to that end.”
The 70-year-old family company sources its major raw materials from certified organic and fair trade projects around the world, including from Ghana (palm oil), Palestine and Israel (olive oil), and Sri Lanka (coconut oil). The announcement of the Charter comes as leaders from Dr. Bronner’s and Fair World Project have joined leaders of the fair trade personal care brand, Alaffia, on an educational delegation to Ghana and Togo to learn more about their community-led development programs and explore ethical supply chain partnerships. Fair World Project Executive Director Dana Geffner wrote about the experience here: https://fairworldproject.org/connecting-the-dots-of-a-solidarity-movement-through-a-trip-of-a-life-time/.
“The new International Fair Trade Charter deepens our understanding of why fair trade is so important. We’ve reached an extreme of globalization in which large corporations continually chase after weaker and cheaper labor and environmental practices across the globe and are destroying natural resources at an alarming rate,” says Dana Geffner, Executive Director of Fair World Project. “By working and organizing together in our advocacy, production and marketing work, and most importantly, in our support of small-scale producer organizations within their own communities under their own rules, we can build a more just economy on the principles of fairness, equity, and justice for all.”
The charter, initiated by Fairtrade International and the World Fair Trade Organization, among others, defines a new model to build a stronger economy and environment for all. It has been recognized by a wide range of local, national and international organizations from across the cooperative, social enterprise, organic, farmer, and global solidarity movements.
“We see spiralling inequality and entrenched poverty because businesses and trade have been shaped to prioritize profits above all else,” says Erinch Sahan, Chief Executive of the World Fair Trade Organization. “Fair trade shows that a better way is possible.”
Erinch Sahan shares more about the launch of the International Fair Trade Charter in this video: https://wfto.com/events/fair-trade-charter-launch. Central to the International Fair Trade Charter is a common understanding that the benefits of global trade must be shared more equally across farmers, workers, companies, and consumers.
Trade can and should be used as a tool to help close the gaps across society,” says Dario Soto Abril, Global Chief Executive Officer of Fairtrade International. “For decades, the fair trade movement has pioneered approaches that have the potential to transform the broader global economy. The International Fair Trade Charter provides a point of reference and inspiration for others to follow suit.”
In an era when major corporations are taking stances on global politics and social issues, fair trade is a business model in which action to support small-scale farmer movements and fair supply chains results in rewarding returns, job creation, and sustainable communities. The global fair trade movement urges policy-makers, business leaders, citizens and consumers to embrace the vision of the International Fair Trade Charter, to create a global economic system populated by fair supply chains and models of business that leave no one behind.
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Fair World Project (FWP) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the use of the term “fair trade” in the marketplace, expand markets for authentic fair trade, educate consumers about key issues in trade and agriculture, advocate for policies leading to a just economy, and facilitate collaborative relationships to create true system change. FWP’s recent report, Fairness for Farmers: A Report Assessing the Fair Trade Movement and the Role of Certification, details the role that fair trade certification and verification programs can play within the larger fair trade movement of ensuring fairness to farmers. FWP also publishes a bi-annual publication, For A Better World. For more information, visit: http://www.fairworldproject.org.
Dr. Bronner’s is a family business committed to honoring the vision of founder Emanuel Bronner by making socially and environmentally responsible products of the highest quality, and by dedicating profits to help make a better world. Dr. Bronner’s commitment to social justice, environmental sustainability and progressive business practices is part of the company’s mission to put into practice the principles that inform the philosophy printed on the company’s iconic soap labels written by founder Emanuel Bronner. The company is the top-selling natural soap maker in North America and a major brand worldwide. Based on 2017 sales, a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap was sold, on average, every 2.2 seconds throughout the year. For further information on Dr. Bronner’s, please visit: http://www.drbronner.com.