Unfair Trade? Global Citizenship Source for photo: Oxfam International (2002)

The Plan…………….. Aim: To explore current trading relationships between developed and developing countries; how these relationships might be unfair; and how people are affected. Objectives - You will be able to: 1.Describe who makes the main profits in the global coffee market chain and who loses out; 2.Evaluate the global economy and society in terms of fairness/unfairness; 3.Describe how people are negatively affected by unfair trade; 4.Describe why fair trade is so important to producers.

Icebreaker Activity (15 minute activity, see notes below) Think of times when you feel you might have been “ripped off” or “conned”. Think of times when you think you should have received better wages for the job you were doing. Imagine you made a record/song/rap, it took you 6 months to write it, and sold millions reaching number one in the charts. What percentage of the profits would you feel you deserved, and what percentage would the record company/label deserve? 10% for you and 90 % for the record company? Or 90% for you and 10% for the record company? Or 50-50? Or another split?

The words of a coffee buyer for Volcafe (a giant transnational trading house) in Uganda: “Go to the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala and you’ll pay 60 US cents for a cup of coffee. In Europe you can pay twice as much. We don’t understand what’s happening. The farmer doesn’t understand. How can the farmer grow a kilogram of kiboko (local unprocessed coffee) for eight cents, and see a spoonful sold for 60 US cents? Are the roasters cheating? Are they making superhuman profits? The only way that all Ugandans can stay in Uganda and not disturb European countries is to have a better price for our crops” Source: Oxfam International (2002), page 22, on-line at:

Who makes the profits in the global coffee market chain? Source: Oxfam International (2002), page 24, on-line at:

Think about the following questions and write down what you think (20 minute activity, see notes below) Is it fair that over 2 billion people live on less than £1.50 a day while the chief executives of multinational corporations take home millions of pounds? Is it fair that even after decades of independence, many countries in the Global South (Less Economically Developed Countries) are often trapped in cycles of poverty and debt? Is it fair that while all societies can be affected by the downsides of globalisation, evidence shows that global trade has continually provided the most benefits to rich countries? Source: Youth for Fair Trade Resource Pack, page 10, on-line at: and-resources/youth-for-fair-trade-resource-pack.htmlhttp:// and-resources/youth-for-fair-trade-resource-pack.html

THE FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT Questions such as those we just evaluated sparked social justice campaigners, international development charities, and some progressive governments to push for changes in global trade rules and relationships. Under the broad banner of ‘fair trade’ they have called for changes to ensure that the benefits of trade are shared by all. This call for change sometimes targets international organisations, like the World Trade Organization. Or sometimes it targets national governments. Increasingly, the movement has reached out to customers/consumers to be part of the change. Source: Youth for Fair Trade Resource Pack, page 10, on-line at: resources/youth-for-fair-trade-resource-pack.htmlhttp:// resources/youth-for-fair-trade-resource-pack.html We will explore the Fair Trade Movement in the next session

Trade that is unfair

The Result…………….. Aim: We have explored current trading relationships between developed and developing countries; how these relationships might be unfair; and how people are affected. Objectives – You can now hopefully attempt to: 1.Describe who makes the main profits in the global coffee market chain and who loses out; 2.Evaluate the global economy and society in terms of fairness/unfairness; 3.Describe how people are negatively affected by unfair trade; 4.Describe why fair trade is so important to those affected negatively.

References Oxfam International (2002) Mugged: Poverty in your Coffee Cup, on-line at: Photos: – Title slide: Mugged: Poverty in your Coffee Cup, on-line at: