10 June 2015
It’s been a long, eight-year journey but fair trade campaigners in Taiwan are at last celebrating the launch of their capital, Taipei, as an official Fair Trade City. From small beginnings in Taiwan’s only Fairtrade cafe and shop, the movement has grown to include a fair trade film festival, walking tour, workshops and a world fair trade forum.
“Fairtrade to me, is not just about a fair deal between consumer and producers, but also about a fairer global society,” says Yu Wan-ju, who with her husband Xu Wen-yen founded the city’s first Fairtrade store and cafe, Okogreen. “We are passionate about spreading the word about Fairtrade and to show it is possible to create new, fairer economical relationships between consumers and producers in the Chinese speaking community.”
With the backing of Taipei’s Mayor Ko Wen-je and City Hall, Fairtrade Taipei hopes to become an example to the rest of the Chinese-speaking world. “Though we are small and very niche, we can see our impact spreading wildly,” says Yu. “The concept of ethical consumption and Fairtrade are very new to most of consumers in Taiwan, and it’s taken a lot of effort to educate consumers. We’ve been knocking on the door for a long time, but it was always closed.”
Not any more. Within the Taipei City area, there are now four Fairtrade licence holders, twenty Fairtrade coffee shops, more than a hundred retail stores selling Fairtrade products, two Fairtrade hotels and many schools are holding Fairtrade pomotional events. Taipei’s six million residents can now choose from Fairtrade certified coffee, wine, chocolate, tea, olive oil and a range of snacks.
“We still have long way to go, “ says Yu. “But the launch of Fairtrade Taipei City is a really important milestone for the Fairtrade movement in Taiwan. From the Mayor down, people are starting to understand that fair trade is not only a cultural phenomenon, but a new way of doing business.”
