World shop
World Shop is a common name for a specialty shop for fair trade . The aim of the world shops is to contribute to greater fairness in trade relations between the countries of the Global South and the North. To achieve this goal, world shops sell fair trade products, participate in political campaigns and provide information and educational work on fair trade issues.
Surname
Originally these stores were called "Third World Stores". With the change in the meaning of the term Third World , the terms “one world shop” or just “world shop” have become established.
General
The beginnings
At the international level, calls for a different, fairer trade were made at the UNCTAD conference in 1964. The developing countries made demands on the industrialized countries under the motto “fair trade instead of alms”. Under this motto, the world shops subsequently pioneered the spread of the idea of fair trade. In 1969 the first world shop was opened in the Netherlands , from there the movement spread across Western Europe. According to the company's own information, there are now 2500 world shops in Europe, around 800 of them in Germany. As in the early days, the movement is still very grassroots.
Functions
World shops not only sell goods, but also inform the public about the products, the peculiarities of the country of origin, the people who produce them, their ideas and services, but also their setbacks.
World shops show that people in the south and in the north are affected by unjust world trade structures and are involved in them. You work with economically and politically disadvantaged producers primarily in the regions of Africa , Asia and Latin America . The three pillars of their work are selling goods, information and educational work, as well as campaigns and lobbying.
In order to mobilize and sensitize the public, campaigns on world trade products as well as on development and socio-political issues are carried out. Information work is also carried out through work with school classes and youth groups, events and regular exchange and dialogue programs with fair trade producers.
Producers
The partners of the world shops are mainly smallholders, cooperatives, artisans, plantation workers , small companies and self-help groups in the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The extra income from fair trade is used by the producers for social projects, educational programs, ecological investments, improvement of infrastructure, etc.
The range
The typical assortment of a world shop includes on the one hand the classic agricultural products of the south such as coffee, tea, cocoa / chocolate, honey, spices, sugar, fruit juices and dried fruits, on the other hand also (arts) crafts from these countries, such as baskets, jewelry, various Household items (dishes, candles, kitchen utensils, etc.), bags, musical instruments, decorative figures, clothing and hammocks.
World shops in Germany
World shops first emerged as a result of the Third World Trade campaign , which was founded in 1970 by the Working Group of Protestant Youth and the Federation of German Catholic Youth to support development policy action groups.
| year | estimated number of world shops in the Federal Republic of Germany |
|---|---|
| 1987 | 350 |
| 1995 | 700 |
| 2004 | 800 |
| 2007 | 836 |
| 2017 | 900 |
There are now more than 800 world shops in Germany. In addition, there are several thousand action groups without a fixed shop, who also offer fair trade goods at festivals and markets and often have a close relationship with a world shop. German world shops usually purchase their goods from the import organizations specializing in fair trade GEPA - The Fair Trade Company (Society for the Promotion of Partnership with Third World Ltd.), the fair trade cooperative WeltPartner eG (formerly known as Third World Partner or until 1. May 2019 dwp eG Fairhandelsgenossenschaft) or El Puente GmbH - or also directly from smallholder cooperatives and cooperatives in developing countries. In addition to GEPA, WeltPartner and El Puente, there are other fair trade import organizations. Most of them have been assessed in the ATO-TÜV of the Weltladen umbrella organization on the basis of conventions.
World shops in Austria
| year | Total sales * | Number of world shops |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 0.8 | k. A. |
| 1992 | 2.9 | k. A. |
| 1997 | 4.5 | 57 |
| 1999 | 4.9 | 61 |
| 2000 | 5.2 | 62 |
| 2001 | 5.9 | 62 |
| 2002 | 6.5 | 64 |
| 2003 | 7.5 | 74 |
| 2004 | 8.4 | 81 |
| 2005 | k. A. | k. A. |
| 2016 | 12 | 89 |
|
* of all world shops in Austria, net in million euros; Source: ARGE Weltladen |
||
In 2010 there were already almost 90 world shops and two world cafés in Austria. Most are run by associations. A few are run by private individuals, limited liability companies or import organizations. They employ around 140 full-time and 1,800 voluntary employees, mainly women. A new, current development are world cafes , the gastronomic line of world shops, in which organic and fair trade products are offered. The consortium World Shops is the umbrella organization for the world shops. The current CEO is Ernst Gassner from Weltladen Amstetten.
history
An important step for the establishment of fair trade in Austria was the establishment of the company EZA Third World (today EZA Fairer Handel GesmbH.) As an importer for fair trade products. Without sales outlets, however, their radius of action was practically limited to the mail order business , a major handicap, as it was necessary to convince the local people of the new idea. In 1977 the first independent 3rd world shop was opened in Innsbruck , and other world shops in other communities soon followed. Initially, craft goods were mainly traded, before so-called “political goods” became more and more important in the mid-1970s. At that time, the actors in the fair trade movement were primarily concerned with providing information about the topic and raising public awareness of the problems of the Third World. In 1982 the operators of several 3rd world shops decided to found the "Association for a better understanding of the problems of the Third World" ( ARGE Third World Shops for short , today ARGE World Shops ). The movement was strongly politically oriented, followed by a series of information campaigns such as “Hunger is not fate”, “Buying critical”, “Front state campaign” (support for the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa), but also information events such as the “Nicaragua- Weeks ”on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Somoza dictatorship . The issues of the environment and environmental degradation were and are also an important concern.
From 1990 onwards, more and more 3rd world shops began to professionalize : In addition to the voluntary employees, paid employees were also hired, the shops moved to more frequented locations, the design of the shops and the presentation of goods were improved, a uniform and clear appearance and marketing and sales growth were accelerated. In 1993, ARGE Third World played a key role in founding the Transfair Austria association (now Fairtrade Austria ). The aim was to bring fair trade products to supermarkets with the help of a seal of approval. During this time, the renaming of “Third World Shops” to World Shops was made in order to express the idea of one world more strongly. In 1995 there were already 50 specialty shops for fair trade in Austria, now there are 89 world shops. In addition to sales, an important focus is still on education and campaigning. The central campaign is World Shop Day, which always takes place on the second Saturday in May. Current information can be found under web links.
Criteria for world shops and fair trade
The definition of fair trade for world shops in Austria is set out in a policy paper. This lays down criteria for the work of the world shops and for the selection of trading partners (both the import organizations and the producer organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America).
It defines standards for transparency, social compatibility, environmental compatibility, democratic forms of organization, payment of a fair price, information and educational work, and continuity.
Monitoring
Austrian world shops carry food with the Fairtrade seal of approval, as well as handicrafts and textiles from fair trade, which they purchase exclusively from recognized and specialized fair trade import organizations. Recognized suppliers of the world shops must therefore meet the criteria for fair trade, which are defined in the policy paper. Compliance with the criteria is checked as part of regular monitoring. The recognized suppliers include, for example, the import organizations EZA Fairer Handel , Eine Welt Handel , WeltPartner, CONA Gerechter Nord Süd Handel , elpuente , Li Cok and others. a.
Thus there are two monitoring systems for the world shops in Austria:
- The independent control company FLO Cert GmbH or Fairtrade Austria is responsible for the control of products with the Fair Trade seal (this applies almost exclusively to food) .
- For the other products (this primarily concerns the (arts) handicrafts offered in the world shops) from Africa, Asia and Latin America there is the system of recognized suppliers (fair trade import organizations), which are regularly checked by an independent auditor World Shop criteria and the standards of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) are examined. The examiner is appointed by the ARGE world shops .
This auditor must be given full inspection of the balance sheet, business conduct, objectives and working methods of the supplier. The supplier also undertakes to forward reports on violations of the fair trade criteria by his manufacturing partners to ARGE Weltladen. If the supplier violates the criteria of fair trade, ARGE Weltladen has the option of terminating the contract at any time with a period of three months, whereby the supplier is excluded from the group of recognized suppliers and the Weltladen no longer procures products from him.
World shops in Switzerland
In Switzerland, the world shops operate under the name Claro . They can be found in larger and smaller towns and sometimes even in villages. The first fair trade campaign took place in 1973 in Frauenfeld . Subsequently, the first world shops were founded. The parent company Claro Fair Trade AG was founded in 1977 under the name Claro AG . According to its statutes, it does not pursue profit maximization and also pursues charitable purposes. Profits generated are used to build up reserves or for targeted support for projects that correspond to the company's purpose. The company achieved sales of 21,912,646 Swiss francs (14,957,703.3 euros) in the 2008/09 financial year with 36 employees . It has 136 authorized stores and supplies more than 500 other stores with its products.
criticism
The world shop model is accused of inefficiency in achieving its goals, as the turnover of the shops is so low that it has no real effect on world trade . In defense of the model, it is countered that despite the marginal importance on the world market, the retail partners of the shops in the third world receive concrete help and their living conditions improve. In addition, the accusation that the operators should not indulge in the illusion of a change by trying to do something concrete about it is a paradox - the actual work is thus criticized for being (yet) insufficient.
In the meantime , fair trade goods certified with the TransFair seal are also being sold in supermarkets and department stores, so that the sales channels are expanded. In both world shops and supermarkets, sales of fairly traded goods have been increasing for years.
Other aspects and further criticism are dealt with under Fair Trade # Criticism .
literature
- Katharina Perkonig: The professionalization of world shops. From political vision work to market-oriented action. Vdm Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken 2009, ISBN 978-3-639-12668-6 .
- Markus Raschke: Fair trade. Commitment to a just global economy. Matthias Grünewald Verlag, Ostfildern 2009, ISBN 978-3-7867-2764-4 .
- Konrad J. Kuhn: Fair Trade and the Cold War: Self-Perception and Positioning of the Fair Trade Movement in Switzerland 1973–1990. Edition Soziothek, Bern 2005, ISBN 3-03796-085-X .
Web links
- Weltladen umbrella organization Germany
- World umbrella organization for shops in Austria
- claro world shops in Switzerland
- World Shops Convention , declared on the website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
- Video: The fair trade of the world shops - The film explains how the fair trade of the world shops works and what makes it so special.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fair trade "Fair trade and organic farming may not change everything in the world. But it is something that each of us can do without Weltladen Herdern, a specialist shop for fair trade in Freiburg-Herdern. Retrieved on July 16, 2019 .
- ^ Weltladen Friedrichshafen: Information on "Fair Trade". Retrieved July 16, 2019 .
- ↑ www.weltladen.at. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .
- ↑ World Shops. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Board of Directors. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .
- ^ Agenda 2010 of the Bread for All / Fastenopfer campaign