FOD and others in 1992 was seeking justice for producers in the developing world exactly in line with what Pope Paul VI had urged in his 1967 encyclical on The Development of Peoples. A whole section of that document (paragraphs 56- 65) dealt with justice in trade in uncompromising terms. Here are a few extracts taken from ‘This is Progress’, the abridged version of the document used as a seminal resource for CAFOD’s Live Simply programme:

Free trade is not enough to regulate world markets: it can work quite well between equal partners but between unequal states it can be disastrous.... Unequal partners may agree, but their agreement can still be quite unjust.... Agreements lack real freedom unless they rest upon the natural law of justice.... Social justice demands that trade between nations should be on equal terms. Agreement must be reached to keep some prices steady, to guarantee some producers, to assist new industries. (Paragraphs 58, 59 & 61).

The Pope concluded this section with the wistful remark: ‘It is not beyond human ingenuity to find a way in which all peoples can have a say in their own destiny.’ It was precisely in search of such a way that some of us from the development agencies met at the end of the 80s to explore how food from poor countries could be more fairly traded. We came up with the idea of The Fairtrade Foundation which was launched a few years later. It made sense to recognise just practice where it existed rather than simply campaign against the greed of big agribusinesses. At the same time it would make it possible to ensure that farmers in small co-operatives received some small support for their own development. This is how it was that CAFOD became a founder-member of an ‘ingenious’ organisation exactly in line with Catholic Social Teaching.

Pope Benedict XVI has underlined this idea in his recent encyclical, Charity in Truth. Fairtrade with its small premium investing in workers’ development embodies his idea of gratuitousness (34). It follows his encouragement ‘to promote new ways of marketing products from deprived areas of the world so as to guarantee their producers a decent return’ (66)

On becoming a Fairtrade Parish

While the recession continues to dominate news agendas, we as Christians are aware that our brothers and sisters in the developing world face immensely more difficult issues. One way we can address this is to do something very simple and practical by buying fairtrade products. Many of us already do this, and supermarkets now stock many such goods. As Catholics, though, we are also aware of our immediate community, the parish, and now is a very good time to link these two points together - by taking steps to make our parish a Fairtrade Parish. Let’s first look at what lies behind the FAIRTRADE Mark.

Unfair trade rules continue to lock millions of people in the developing world in poverty. Two billion people – a third of humanity – work hard to support themselves yet still struggle to survive on £1 per day or less. Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. More than 7 million producers, workers and their families now get a better deal from Fairtrade. The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label created by CAFOD and other organisations (including Christian Aid, Oxfam and Traidcraft): the Fairtrade Foundation is the independent non-profit organisation that licenses use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products in the UK.

But what is the point of becoming a Fairtrade Parish? Well, it is a great way to get more people buying and using Fairtrade products in their everyday lives. The Fairtrade Foundation has worked with CAFOD and other organisations to set three goals for becoming a Fairtrade Parish, which are: Use Fairtrade tea and coffee after services and for all meetings; move forward on using other Fairtrade products (such as sugar, biscuits and fruit); finally, promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and during the year through events, worship and other activities.

Here are some tips for getting started. Gather a small group of people to discuss how to promote Fairtrade within your parish. Talk to your parish priest and enlist his interest and support. Explain some of the ways Fairtrade can bring people together and strengthen the church community. Put up Fairtrade posters, show videos and use other promotional resources from the Fairtrade Foundation or Traidcraft. Let other people know what’s going on - get wider publicity through parish, diocesan and local newspapers. Last, but certainly not least, use the prayers and reflections in the Fairtrade Church Action Guide to help incorporate Fairtrade into your worship.

Indeed, by keeping this spiritual focus at the forefront we will always remember the whole point of Fairtrade - to ensure that our brothers and sisters in the developing world get a fair price for their work and produce. Oliva Kishero, a coffee farmer in Uganda illustrates this point very well: ‘Fairtrade is a good idea and makes a big difference to us. It is marketing our coffee and giving us a fair price. And we know we are not being cheated.’

There are lots of ways forward. For more ideas and resources, including the Fairtrade Church Action Guide, contact CAFOD at www.cafod.org.uk/fairtrade, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or ring 020 7095 5692. In turn, once your parish is ready, CAFOD can certify your parish as a Fairtrade Parish!