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You will likely have seen the Fairtrade mark on several products at your local supermarket, but do you know how this concept is improving the lives of millions of people around the world?

What is the Fairtrade Movement?

The Fairtrade organisation allows consumers greater possibilities to give small-scale farmers the opportunity to earn the wage they deserve. This movement has empowered farmers in developing countries and there are currently 1,226 Fairtrade certified organisations in 74 different countries.

Established in 1992, the aim of this organisation is to create a world in which workers receive a fair wage for the jobs that they do. This of course better enables them to create a stable future for themselves and their families. As they promote, encourage and enable fairer trading standards and conditions, this is a movement that has the potential to instigate change at every level.

How the Fairtrade Movement Works

By working with both businesses and the famers who produce and supply the products, the Fairtrade organisation is striving to eradicate exploitation and poverty among those who are involved.

In order to be certified as Fairtrade, a company will have to meet the expectations set out by the Fairtrade organisation. These expectations relate to the economic, the social, and the environmental standards of how the the farm operates and how the workers are treated.

When it comes to the farmers and the workers, these standards work to uphold their rights as well as to protect their financial interests. It is also Fairtrade policy that the farmers involved will receive what is known as a Fairtrade Premium, which is an additional payment that they then use to invest in local community projects. This means that it is not just the workers of individual farms that benefit, but the wider community on the whole.

The organisation has a process in place to investigate the entire production process, from farm to retailer, in order to establish if their standards are being met. If this is found to be the case then the product in question is then entitled to use the Fairtrade mark on the packaging of their product.

What is Included?

Both final products and food ingredients can be certified as being Fairtrade. If a finished product carries the Fairtrade mark then this means that all of the ingredients used in this product meet these standards.

There are approximately 4,500 Fairtrade products, with some of the most common everyday items being:

• Bananas
• Coffee
• Cotton
• Sugar
• Tea
• Cocoa

How Fairtrade is Making a Difference

An increase in conscious consumerism has led to shoppers making more sustainable choices in regards to a wide range of items. This can be seen to range from their food choices to the fabrics that they purchase when it comes to their clothes. This desire for a fairer world has further fuelled the Fairtrade movement, with more than 1.65 million farmers and workers currently being certified Fairtrade producers.

Gender equality is one concept that this movement has helped to not only draw attention to, but also to improve in parts of the world where this divide is especially apparent. As it stands today, 26% of all Fairtrade workers and farmers are women, with 48% of those women working within the plantations themselves.

Sustainability for a Better Future

The Fairtrade movement is helping to create a more sustainable future for the workers and also to educate local people about sustainable farming practices. In fact, protecting the environment is one of the key features of the organisation. In order to be eligible to call themselves Fairtrade producers, farmers must comply with certain sustainable farming practices. They can also receive training on environmentally friendly farming methods.

Want to read more about this incredible concept and the great work they do? Click here to head to their website now!

[Physical]

Cotton is one of the most popular fabrics used today – if not the most popular – with roughly 20 million tons being produced each year! It is safe to assume that you are never too far away from an item made of cotton! As well as being used to produce a wide range of clothing items, cotton is also used in things like furniture and household items.

To truly understand how popular cotton is, and why this is the case, let’s take a look at some statistics:

• In 2013 more than 82 million tons of textile fibres were manufactured and used, with cotton accounting for approximately 30% of this figure.
• Cotton can absorb more than 20 times its bodyweight in water, meaning it can be dyed easily.
• In order to make just one shirt that is 100% cotton, 0.23kg of the fabric is required.
• In order to make just one bath towel that is 100% cotton, 0.28kg of the fabric is required.

Where Does Cotton Come From?

Cotton grows as an annual crop from a perennial tree. The large majority of cotton is picked from the plants by hand, with just a third of picking being done by machines. It is estimated that one worker will be able to pick up to 30kg of cotton each day.

With the cost of labour increasing in many parts of the world, more farmers are being pushed to invest in mechanical picking. This type of picking is currently most popular in Greece, Spain, Turkey, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina.

The Problem with Cotton

Cotton accounts for between 10% and 20% of all insecticides used for all crops. It is also responsible for between 5% and 10% of all pesticide use. When we consider that less than 3% of all agricultural land in the world is used for growing cotton, then we can see how high the ratio of chemicals to crops is!

Insecticides are a type of pesticide specifically used to target insects, whereas pesticides are chemicals used to deter all pests from crops, and kill them if necessary.

The large amounts of toxic chemicals that are used to manage and mitigate the risk from all pests during cotton production is problematic for several reasons.

First of all, the pesticides go on to contaminate the soil, which will then run through to nearby water sources.

Secondly, pests can develop resistance to these chemicals over time, which then leads to stronger pesticides having to be created. Also, these chemicals can be harmful to the natural enemies of the pests that are being targeted. This seriously disrupts the ecosystem and can cause new problems to arise in terms if which pests the crops need protecting from!

Furthermore, cotton requires massive amounts of water during cultivation. In addition to being incredibly taxing on natural resources, over-watering an area can also decrease the quality of the soil.

Cotton and Climate Change

Industrial fertilisers are often required in order to adequately grow cotton, and the energy required to do so is responsible for between 1 and 2% of the world’s annual energy consumption. The amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere during these processes is certainly a cause for concern when it comes to climate change!

Moving on from Cotton

Increasing the prevalence of sustainable fabrics is one way that we can move on from cotton and embrace more environmentally friendly farming practices and fabrics.

At PAMA London we believe that using recycled charcoal bamboo for clothing production is a much better option than cotton. Click here to read more about our fabric choices and how the planet and the wearer can benefit from making this choice!

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With over seven billion people currently living on our precious planet, the impact of the human population on the earth’s resources is hard to avoid! Today we are going to explore the human impact on the planet, and how we can all work to reduce the problems caused by our presence! Doing so is essential if we are to continue living here!

Population

The population of our planet continues to increase at an alarming rate. The current estimate of over seven billion people is a dramatic increase from the approximate one billion people that inhabited the planet just 200 years ago*.

As the amount of people increases, so too does the demand on our natural resources increase. We need to produce more food, more energy, more housing – and all of these things require additional resources, and therefore place an additional strain upon the planet.

Farming

Humans have been farming on this planet for more than 10,000 years! Although this is obviously necessary in order to cultivate food, this also involves transforming landscapes and disrupting natural areas. For example, forests are completely destroyed in order to create land that is suitable for planting crops or raising animals for food.

Farming at the massive scale in which we do poses a problem because of the damage caused to the land, especially when deforestation is taking place. A huge amount of water is also required for farming which can lead to water shortages in other areas.

Industrial Development

Since the age of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700’s, the prominence of factory manufacturing processes has boomed. The problem with the majority of factories is that they use excessive amounts of natural resources and require massive amounts of energy to run effectively.

The waste that is created by these factories around the world contributes massively to global warming, as well as the pollution of our air and water.

Pollution

Pollution is one of the biggest issues when it comes to how humans are causing ongoing damage to the planet. The environment is being harmed by countless chemicals and other substances.

The main causes of pollution that we can identify are the aforementioned waste from industrial sources, as well as sewage and the use of pesticides on the crops that we grow. Our use of automobiles also massively contributes to pollution.

It has been suggested that there could be as many as two billion cars on the roads by 2035*! Automobiles are one of the biggest culprits when it comes to air pollution, emitting dangerous levels of nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and other chemicals.

It is true that certain types of pollution can be tackled and the effects therefore relieved to some degree. However, other types of pollution can remain toxic for many thousands of years, thereby having a seriously detrimental impact on the planet and its inhabitants.

What Can We Do?!

In order to lower the human impact on the planet, to combat pollution and to better prepare the earth for some of the unavoidable problems caused by over-population, we all have to make conscientious decisions when it comes to affecting the planet.

At PAMA London we advocate making ethical choices when it comes to your clothing and fashion choices, such as with the use of charcoal bamboo in our clothing.

In addition to making sustainable choices when it comes to your clothing, there are other ways that you can lower or limit your carbon footprint. You can try to use transportation less by walking more, always recycle your rubbish and try to use less energy in your home.