Wednesday October 11, 2006 | 7 comments
I write this post in hopes of stimulating some dialogue on the subject of fair trade certified teas.
I would like to preface this post by saying that I am NOT an expert on the technical details or the official position taken by Transfair or other Fair Trade organizations. If I misquoted something, or if my interpretation is incorrect, I sincerely apologize and hope to have it clarified/rectified in this discussion. My objective with this post is ultimately to learn from this discussion and debate the various aspects of this movement and its implications to the tea industry.
According to Transfair USA’s website (www.transfairusa.org) and Rob Clarke of Transfair Canada (www.transfair.ca), the organization certifies products from developing countries that stand for “… fair price, fair labor conditions, direct trade, democratic and transparent organizations, community development, and environmental sustainability.” The movement seems to have gained the greatest impact in the coffee industry, and has since spread to other industries including tea.
In principle, I strongly favor all of those values mentioned above, particularly because there are areas of the tea industry that have ethical issues that still need to be resolved. However, upon further research, I discovered an unfortunate “catch 22″ that I have not received satisfactory answers from anyone associated with Transfair so far.
#1) Fair Trade Certification for Developed Countries
As a grower and producer based in Japan, we technically do not qualify as a “Fair Trade Certifiable” entity because Japan is a developed country. Even though our ethical, equitable and environmental approach to business is significantly higher than those valued by the “Fair Trade” organizations, we are implicitly penalized because we are not allowed to “authenticate” our ethical business through their influential organization. Is it “fair” that we are punished for being “too good”?
#2) Composites Products Policy
The only solution suggested so far to us by the Transfair organization was that we “… blend 20% of “fair trade certified” (non-Japanese) teas into our matcha so that we can take advantage of their “composites products policy”. This supposedly allows us to use the Fair Trade logo to communicate our ethical behavior. Is this not somewhat perverting the principles Fair Trade is supposed to stand for? This suggests that we blend potentially “less ethically procured” teas into our product to make it “Fair Trade” viable.
Japan and Korea as examples, are two famous tea growing, developed countries that have a very distinct method of growing and processing teas that cannot be replicated by other countries. Blending 20% plus of foreign teas that were not produced “authentically” in Japan or Korea would result in an invariably different product. Is this how this Fair Trade system is supposed to work?
I do not think anyone really disputes the value and the intentions of the Fair Trade movement. It is wonderful to see such a noble minded cause make headway in our industries, and I personally am a strong supporter of its principles. However, I do not think it is fair that companies and communities are implicitly penalized because our originating countries did not abuse our farmers as others have in the past.
I look forward to hearing from others, particularly those involved in the Fair Trade business and those growers of premium teas in developed countries for your insight.
Brian
I can certainly appreciate your frustration. I hadn’t realized that Fair Trade Certification ONLY applied to developing countries. I would suggest that you initally find a way to communicate that information to the general public. By educating consumers about Japan’s “ethical, equitable and environmental approach” to tea production, you will help consumers around the world learn to value and appreciate the Japanese methods of tea production. On a larger scale, perhaps Japan can partner with Korean tea growers and define a new, ethical identification for your wonderful products. In that way, you won’t have to be disadvantaged by the Fair Trade movement.
I’m disappointed to learn of the unreasonable conclusions that the Transfair organization had for you and Japanese tea growers. I agreed that their suggestion is inappropriate and unacceptable. I would have liked to see that such an important organization, who is devoted to helping farmers in impoverished areas, would have been more sensitive to your very real issues. I don’t believe they envisioned the negative consequences this would have had on developed tea countries, but once you alerted them to the problem, they failed to consider any viable solutions. Perhaps your tea association would be an appropriate resource in this matter. I would also speak with Joe Simrany, the President of the U.S. Tea Association, as he is a fair and knowledgable man with considerable influence in the global tea world.
First off, kudos to Fair Trade organizations for their noble intentions. Too bad that they can’t please everyone, such as your company, Mr. Takeda. I’ll try to be brief in my humble and unresearched opinion. Just to continue the dialogue…
If there isn’t any exception or loophole in the Fair Trade Organization’s policies that you can apply to your issues, why not create your own version? Something like “Meets or Exceeds Fair Trade Standards” label that is backed up by action and regulations.
Re: blending, as far as I know, Yamamotoyama has a huge operation in Brazil, which is a fair trade country. Don’t they produce matcha in Brazil (or from Brazilian raw materials) following the exact Japanese standards of quality? I don’t know anything about your product line, Mr. Takeda, but if the quality of your product won’t suffer by blending in Brazilian matcha (which is produced according to strict Japanese standards anyway), then why not? Unless, of course, if you market your product as 100% grown in Japan, then my point would be moot.
I think it may be better to work around the issue rather than trying to change Fair Trade organizations’ policies. Their policies, I believe, is geared towards improving the standard of living for farm workers in developing countries and leveling the field of business competition in the world market. I come from a developing 3rd world country and I know for a fact that those farmers need Fair Trade’s representation. Those farmers are dirt poor, unlike farmers in the US or Japan. Trying to persuade Fair Trade organizations to modify their policies to suit your needs may result in unintended consequences that may shift their primary goal(s).
My not-so-brief, unresearched, 2 cents. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Phyll
Hi Phyll,
I appreciate your input. As a manufacturer with plantations within Japan and abroad though, we face a particularly funny situation. Some of our products can be fair trade certified, yet the most authentic of all, those grown in Japan, cannot. We essentially do not have a simple, easy to understand explanation for our position because of this technicality, even though our standards for all our teas grown are the gold-standard benchmark.
I also cannot agree with you more regarding the problem of “diluting” Fair Trade’s mission and objectives in developing countries. We do not want to develop a competing certification that may compete for attention from Fair Trade. We also run the risk of undermining it by implicitly suggesting that the standards Fair Trade push for are insufficient, especially if we were to say that our teas “meet or exceed” the Fair Trade standard. I think we would be doing disservice to a movement that I believe is heading in the right direction.
One of the most unfortunate realities of matcha production is that tencha, the raw material for matcha green tea, grows best in only two regions of the world, Nishio and Kyoto, Japan. We too have been growing tencha abroad. We were the first in the world to do so at an institutional level, and have invested more time and money than any of our competitors in the world. However, even to this day, we are nowhere close to producing the quality that rivals Nishio or Kyoto tencha. So, the idea of blending foreign grown tencha really is not an option unless the market is willing to accept an inferior quality product. Perhaps though, this may be the only option for now to avoid disrupting the progress being made by Fair Trade.
Again, I appreciate your opinion and appreciate you participating in this discussion.
Brian Takeda
There was a good article on Fair Trade by the founder of Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea. You could Google for it. But here’s another from Financial Times:
The Bitter Cost of Fair Trade Coffee
From what I’ve read, Fair Trade is very ‘iffy’. I like what Phyll suggested about “meets or exceeds Fair Trade standards’.
This is another thing I hope isn’t propagated so that the public turns up its’ nose at any coffee or tea that isn’t ‘fair trade’ or even ‘organic’. Just know where your tea is coming from, how it is grown and how the estates treat workers.
Hi Team,
Thank you for your comment. I have since been doing some more research around “fairtrade” and found numerous arguments for and against the concept. Both sides have very sound arguments, and I have to admit I am not 100% convinced to pick a side yet.
All I know is that, as a grower of teas that applies the highest standards in the world for agricultural production, pays at least 10 to 50 times the wages offered by the tea industry, and does not use migrant labor for harvesting, we tend to get a short-end of the stick for being “too good”.
By saying that we meet or exceed Fairtrade standards (or imply that Fairtrade standards are too low for our liking), I fear the risk of jumbling the messaging and, worst case scenario, being mislabeled as the “tobacco institute” equivalent of the tea industry that undermines the potentially good things Fairtrade does for producers for our own gains.
I am still torn as to how to address this situation. We are proud of our approach to the tea business, but feel unfairly punished through association due to the existence of less reputable producers.
Thank you for your feedback. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and those of others reading this comment.
Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda
Brian: Hi. Is it possible that you are discounting the goodwill and perception that a statement “Grown and produced in Japan” carries? I can’t think of a reason that the absence of a Fair Trade certification would conjure up images of ill-treated, underpaid workers and sweatshops if the “Grown and produced in Japan” statement is visible. Japan is different from China/Peru/Kenya/Nepal/etc., and Japan simply does not have that reputation (I may be wrong, but I doubt it). I’m not sure if having a Fair Trade stamp on Aiya’s products would materially boost sales. Perhaps a survey among your largest accounts or the buying public to find out if the Fair Trade certification affect their buying habits would help your decision making process.
Team: Thanks for the link to the FT article. It’s an interesting read.
Phyll
Hi Phyll,
Very good point. Japan definitely does not have the stereotype of being a labor oppressing nation. Rather, “made in Japan” has a perfectionist and quality driven feel to it.
Thank you for the feedback. I’ll propose this angle of argument to our marketing people and see what they think.
Brian