St. Patrick would support Fair Trade

Did you know that Saint Patrick was not Irish, he was actually British? He was born in the fourth century on the west coast of Britain and his father was a deacon. Some say he was born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland. Others say his own autobiography identifies his birthplace as an area near Cumbria.

There are many legends and stories of St. Patrick, but there is no doubt that he was captured from his home by an Irish raiding party when he was very young. He was taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep and pigs on the mountain side. (Tradition says this was in County Antrim but it is now believed that it was more like likely in County Mayo, on the west coast) Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him.

During his captivity, Patrick turned to God in prayer. He wrote "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."

Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain, where he reunited with his family. He had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him and begging for his return. He began his studies for the priesthood and returned to Ireland after being ordained as a bishop. In Ireland he set about preaching the Gospel but met some opposition and hostility from tribes and their leaders. Nevertheless he successfully converted Chieftains and at least 120,000 ordinary people to Christianity. Two genuine writings of his have survived to this day, one of which is his autobiography. Legend has it that he died at the age of 120 on 17th March. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated worldwide on 17th March and is a national holiday in Ireland.

But what has this got to do with Fair Trade? Patrick was a victim of human trafficking and spent approximately six years of his life as a child slave living in appalling conditions. Over 1,500 years later an estimated 158 million children aged 5-14 years are engaged in child labour in developing countries. (Source UNICEF). According to the United Nations, 126 million of them are occupied in the worst forms of labour affecting their health or education, e.g. in mines, with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture, or with dangerous machinery. Of these, 50 million work in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.  There is an important distinction to be made between a child being forced into labour and a child's willing participation in work.  Helping with the housework or in the family business, or earning pocket money during school holidays are all positive steps in a child's development. These forms of work provide children with valuable skills and experience. The work done by a child is not considered labour if it doesn't harm their health, interrupt their education or hinder their personal development.

Most of us are consumers of some products tainted by child labour. It could be the cotton in your bed linen or clothes, chocolate with origins in the Ivory Coast, jewellery, hand-knotted carpets from India, your iPod, footballs from Pakistan, that cup of coffee in your local cafe....

If we do not care whether or not the products we purchase are made by child labour, governments will continue to avert their eyes from the plight of these children. So how are we to avoid the trap of benefiting from the labour of children? One answer to this problem is to buy fair trade products.

At Arusha Fair Trade the majority of our products are produced by members of the WFTO and we follow their standards when deciding which products to stock. The World Fair Trade Organisation has set 10 standards of Fair Trade. Here is number five:

“Standard Five: Child Labour and Forced Labour
The organization adheres to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and national / local law on the employment of children. The organization ensures that there is no forced labour in its workforce and / or members or homeworkers.

Organizations who buy Fair Trade products from producer groups either directly or through intermediaries ensure that no forced labour is used in production and the producer complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and national / local law on the employment of children. Any involvement of children in the production of Fair Trade products (including learning a traditional art or craft) is always disclosed and monitored and does not adversely affect the children’s well-being, security, educational requirements and need for play.”

The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation, which certifies fairtrade tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas, rice, wine etc, is committed to child protection. Fairtrade prohibits child labour which includes the worst forms of child labour and forced (bonded) labour. Fairtrade helps address the roots of child labour by offering producers in the developing world a fair price and stable trading deals.

I think if St. Patrick was alive today he would choose fair trade.