News and press releases

Press release: Build Back Fairer

Civil society alliance calls for the transformation of the economy and trade system for a just and sustainable recovery.

Friday 25 September marks a number of significant milestones: the two-year anniversary of the adoption of the International Fair Trade Charter; the fifth anniversary of adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals; and the Fridays for Future Global Day of Climate Action

As we mark this years’ milestones it is clear that the outlook is bleak. Covid-19, itself a result of humanity’s destruction of nature, has exacerbated existing inequalities and put food sovereignty further at risk. The hardest hit have been the most vulnerable, including small-farmers and workers in the Global South.  read more

Press Release: MEPs call on the Commission to follow civil society approach in textile strategy

On 3 June, a group of 53 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from across the political spectrum wrote a letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius, Hogan, Reynders, and Urpilainen endorsing civil society’s approach to rethinking the global textile value chain. In their letter, MEPs stress the “need to adopt a truly comprehensive approach that deals with the various issues highlighted in [the] civil society strategy, including human rights, environment, governance, and gender”. read more

The Civil Society Shadow European Strategy for Sustainable Textile, Garments, Leather and Footwear

On Thursday, 23 April 2020, The Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO) along with a diverse coalition of civil society organisations, launched the ‘shadow strategy’ for fair and sustainable textiles. The strategy lays out a set of recommendations for the European Union to address the various challenges of textile value chains, including environmental sustainability, human rights, governance, labour rights, and gender among others read more

Ivorian cooperatives call for long-term solutions to cocoa supply chain issues

The FTAO met with a delegation of cocoa producer cooperatives from the Ivorian Fair Trade Network (RICE), visiting Brussels for the Salon du Chocolat, on the 17 February 2020. This was a great opportunity for FTAO, and the other CSOs in attendance, to hear about how the policy issues that we engage with relate to the reality on the ground in producer countries.

The cooperative representatives expressed their support for a more sustainable cocoa sector and welcomed the interest that the EU has shown in making environmentally and socially sustainable cocoa supply chains a reality. read more

EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade: Award Launch and MEP Trip to Ghent

This week was marked by two back-to-back events organised by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the European Commission around their EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award.

On Tuesday, 4 February, the Commission hosted a launch event for the second edition of the award in Brussels. It was an opportunity to reflect on key takeaways from the 2018 award, to provide information for applicants, and to discuss how the award is promoting and enabling the uptake of fair and ethical trade on a local level. read more

UNCTAD and Fair Trade movement host event to discuss how to share benefits more equitably in value chains

Today, the 22 January 2020, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in collaboration with the Fair Trade Advocacy Office, hosted a debate with the title “Value chains: How to share benefits more equitably” at the UNCTAD Headquarters, the United Nations Office in Geneva. This event takes place as follow-up to the framework of cooperation signed in October 2018 between UNCTAD and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office, a joint initiative of Fairtrade International and the World Fair Trade Organization. read more