Social impact and Fair trade
What is fair trade? How to create a social impact? Why is fair trade important to create an impact and to help artisans to grow their business? Read on and learn how fair trade principles are changing artisans' lives.
Fair trade
Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in growing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. Members of the fair trade movement add the payment of higher prices to exporters, as well as improved social and environmental standards.
The movement focuses in particular on commodities, or products that are typically exported from developing countries to developed countries, but is also used in domestic markets (e.g., Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Bangladesh), most notably for handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, wine, sugar, fruit, flowers, and gold.
Fair trade was created as an alternative way of doing trade. It is based on partnership, which means that the interests of farmers and workers are just as important as other commercial considerations. It also represents a solution to poverty and a model for development.
Qartaj believes in fair trade and justice for workers in the artisanal field. As a matter of fact, Qartaj creates economic opportunities for marginalized artisans and their communities. The enterprise promotes the disadvantaged artisans in marginalized (rural) communities by expanding economic opportunities to sell their handmade products all over the world. Also, we pledge to protect the Tunisian ancestral handicrafts of national patrimony and help to introduce it to the world.
Social impact
It’s critical to clearly differentiate between the broad term of “impact” and a more deliberate definition of social impact. Impact on its own implies an influence or effect on virtually anything, given its context. Social impact, however, is grounded in the effect it has on a pressing social challenge.
Social impact is the effect on people and communities that happens as a result of an action or inaction, an activity, project, programme, or policy.
How to create a social impact?
So, how can your business create a social impact program that benefits both communities and business objectives? And how can it have a massive impact?
- Define What Sustainability Means to You : Sustainability at its core is maintaining change in a balanced fashion. How it is implemented depends on you. Our ever-increasing digital world should be embraced. This is not only affecting us in a professional aspect but on a personal one as well.
- Sharing vs. Liking : Let’s be honest about this one. Today we are social activists leveraging the tools of social media. We think we are making a difference when we have this Twitter outrage. Saw a post that is just wrong? Share it with local authorities or decision-makers in your local community to provide a solution. Digital likes do not do anything. More must be done and with mobile technology, it could be done in as little as five minutes.
- Making Smart Shopping Decisions : Sustainable investing has increased 135% from 2012–2016, according to the US SIF Foundation. What does this mean? Shopping local & smart is a higher priority among consumers, but there is way more work that needs to be done.
- Take inventory of your resources : Companies possess many resources. This includes your employees who can serve as volunteers, financial revenue that can be dispersed as monetary donations, and let’s not forget the goods and services you provide to the consumer. Even your product can go a long way when provided to community-based organizations as an in-kind gift. All of which are tools in your social impact arsenal as a company. This will position your company to serve the community where you’re most equipped to support while adding social value to your brand.
- Create a social impact committee : Most companies don’t have a deep roster of social impact subject matter experts on staff. So, think about creating a social impact committee. And who better to turn to than your employees who may be passionate about community service.
Why is Fair trade important to create an impact and to help artisans to grow their business ?
Fairtrade is a simple way to make a difference to the lives of the people who create the things we love.
Fair trade is to connect disadvantaged farmers and workers with consumers, promote fairer trading conditions and empower farmers and workers to combat poverty, strengthen their position and take more control over their lives.
It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers.
Through fair trade, workers receive a fair minimum wage, environmental sustainability is maintained, bonuses are paid to producers according to the product they create: These bonuses go to a communal fund to be used for development projects and the supply chain is transparent to consumers.
Therefore, Fair Trade has proven to be a strong force in dealing with unscrupulous trading practices that exploit producers.
In effect, Fair Trade has become a major factor for the enhancement of the producers’ well-being.
Social inclusion
Social inclusion has been defined by the World Bank as “The process of improving the terms for individuals and groups to take part in society” or more precisely “The process of improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of people, disadvantaged on the basis of their identity, to take part in society”.(The World Bank, 2021)
To increase women’s economic empowerment and social inclusion, a change of attitudes among key actors combined with strengthened capacity and commitment by key public and private stakeholders is required.
Social Inclusion Barriers
We can distinguish that there are social, economic, and cultural obstacles.
Among the cultural obstacles, one can find tradition, culture, customs, religion.
Now moving on to social barriers which include: lack of community support, social norms, and group conformity.
Finally, we can talk about the economic obstacles which are as follows: absence of property rights, corruption, tax infrastructure.
It can be concluded that the main barriers are the lack of necessary knowledge and skills; the living area of workers; and community factors such as lack of amenities and attitudes.
In addition to that we can find other barriers for women artisans in Tunisia. They are not officially recognized by the ONAT (National Office of Tunisian Handicrafts). This means there is a lack of information on a large portion of women artisans and thus a lack of legal framework for governance of clusters and partnership projects
Tunisian women artisans often are stuck working in an informal setting because of the lack of experience with associations in the management of projects financed by donors and the lack of information on market development.
Social Inclusion Boosters
Promoting socio-economic inclusion requires the improvement of policies conducive to the revival of growth and investment, the overhaul of education, health, and higher education systems. However, at the same time, a more coherent and effective social protection and promotion policy, with more solid management tools and targeted programs that provide concrete answers, also appears to be an urgent need.
Social assistance programs must also be innovated to better protect women artisans and families to invest in order to preserve or increase their human capital and ensure their future.
In addition to that, Tunisia must know its citizens better in order to serve them better through a dynamic, transparent, and inclusive information and social management system.
Progress is slow, but Tunisia has already started updating the file of beneficiaries of social security programs such as the necessary Families Program and the Reduced Rate Health Card.
The World Bank is, in any case, ready to take up this challenge and to work alongside UNICEF and other partners to help Tunisia develop an innovative initiative in its most disadvantaged regions.
