Partnering with Fairtrade

All Aagan Oganic’s products are certified organic and Fairtrade, today we’re looking at what it means to be Fairtrade.

Most people have some sense of the concept of Fairtrade, after all it’s right there in the name. Trade done fairly. Seems simple enough, but what does it really mean?

Fairtrade started with a simple idea, if you pay people fairly for their work and their products then they can create a good lives for themselves, their families and communities. Unfortunately this isn’t how many people conduct business in today’s world. Fairtrade takes a holistic approach believing true sustainability is about people, their communities and the environment.

As well as ensuring farmers are paid fairly for their cotton, the Fairtrade Premium –an additional sum of money- is paid to the cooperative in to a communal fund. The farmers then use it -as they see fit- to improve their lives and their community. This can be almost anything from training about agricultural practices to building a school or hospital. Fairtrade works in partnership with farmers to nurture the environment and ensure that it is respected for future generations.

Aagan Organic Cotton have partnered with one of Fairtrade’s largest cotton cooperatives in India. This organic cooperative embraces sustainable agriculture. Led by farmers the cooperative works to improve the lives of their members and help them to create a better lives for themselves and their families. When this cooperative was established 2004,there were only 234 farmer members, as of 2014 the cooperative supports over 15,279 farming families.

Over the years the farmers within this cooperative have chosen to spend their Fairtrade Premium funds in many different ways. In recent years they have chosen to purchase clean cooking stoves for farming families. Many rural households in India still use open wood fires to cook on. Not only do these require a lot of wood which creates a heavy burden on the environment, the fumes from the stoves causes respiratory problems and other health issues. A seemingly small purchase, a cooking stove, has a profound impact.

At Aagan Organic we are pleased to partner with Fairtrade to offer you products so you too can have a positive impact on the world around you.


Image Credit: Didier Gentilhomme