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MONGOLYURT and « FAIR TRADE »
Dear visitor,
After many years in the business wondering (am I just a nasty capitalist??),
I finally came up with a clear and reassuring definition (at least for me!)
of fair trade.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 23rd ‘s article says
« Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human
dignity ». It is this fundamental right that Fair Trade aims to
(re-)secure.
"Fair trade
is a trading partnership which aims at sustainable development for producers
who are generally excluded or disadvantaged. It seeks to achieve this by
offering better trading conditions for producers, educating consumers and
raising awareness.
Its three main principles are:
* Setting a "fair" price with the producers;
* Developing the shortest routes to avoid intermediaries;
* Pre-financing of orders.
By building stable commercial relation, fair trade promotes less lopsided
exchanges, more just, and in one word more humane. "
I believe that in our daily activities, we comply fairly well to the
universal values of respect, compassion and justice. I know that the
discussions we have with our suppliers are well balanced both in financial
terms (we do not impose our prices but we are discussing on an equal footing
and we finance all our orders in advance) at the level of human relations.
Should we then really be considered as nasty capitalists… how could we
possibly act otherwise?
How could we do
otherwise indeed: in Mongolia
, as much as in France ,
the UK or USA
, people have the choice of their relations with others – except maybe the
cashmere producers who are dependant of international trade values of this
material, such as cocoa, oil or coffee. Yurts though, are not at all listed
on stock markets; Luckily!
Mongolia is a state of law where most children go to school,
where employees can join unions, resign or even seek justice through courts
if necessary. In short: a civilised country, not a jungle where anything
goes... This is not Zimbabwe
, or not even China , nor Pakistan
.
The words “Fair Trade” applied to Mongolia, sound to me much more like a
rather unusual selling point and possibly a fairly dishonest one and this
mostly for two reasons:
- The first is that, in a market where there are no constraints that may
oblige the seller (farmer or artisan) to sell against its own interest, the
trade is fair by nature and a natural result of a bilateral agreement.
- The second reason is mainly a question of vanity: even if I am convinced
that I am trading fairly, is it really necessary or even elegant to publish
it?
This is why we will continue not advertising any fair trade logo or display
on our main page, as this concept doesn’t have more meaning in Mongolia
, than it has for you when you’re dealing in your local grocery store or your
neighbouring baker. It would actually be dishonest to use it
inappropriately, as it trivializes an idea that definitely has a real social
and economic utility in other countries.
However, we will continue to communicate on our cooperation projects and our
actions for the environment. Because these are real problems in this country.
The problem of deforestation for example, is not the consequence of the
Western craze for yurts; unlike the huge quantities of wood used in
construction or for heating purposes. But as a fight against extreme poverty,
it still is our collective responsibility. And in the same way… it is our future
and the ones of the artisans whom we buy from: no wood, no yurt! And as for
extreme poverty, the one that is a matter of life or death, I keep on
thinking that « any loss is my loss » and am trying, as much as
anyone else here at MongolYurt, to do our best every time we are confronted
to it. I would like to quote John Donne here as a conclusion:
"Maybe one for
whom the bell tolls is so sick he did not know that the bell rings to him
.... No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the
continent, a part of everything ... the death of every human being diminishes
me, because I am part of humanity, and therefore, never ask for whom the bell
tolls for it tolls for thee. "
I remain totally
available to anybody’s questions and welcome any comments on this subject. We
will soon open a website, www.fondationmariemarneur.com, which shall describe in a
little more details the action we are undertaking in the areas of development,
education and the environment in Mongolia . You will not find any
reference to "fair trade", since it is so self-evident to us
(actually the website has been online for a while, but has rarely
been updated).
We will also introduce our "teams" in the different countries (who
are friends who share the same values), in order to show you that behind the
screen of your computer, there are people working every day to give you full
satisfaction.
Sébastien Marneur and everyone at MongolYurt.
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