World Fair Trade Day 2011 - FairMail Cards India

The idea behind Fairmail started in June 2006 in Peru, where the two Dutch pioneers where already living for 3 years by then and also working (see www.otracosa.info). They started the Peruvian company Fairmail Peru by teaching 5 local teenagers photography skills. After winning the Business in Development Challenge in 2006 FairMail Peru started selling its postcards to the Dutch World Shops through the certified distributor (by the Dutch Association of World Shops) Bondgenoot Partner. During spring of 2007 the pioneers decided to expand the concept of FairMail over the rest of the world with the goal of having 3 different production and 6 sales countries by 2012. The Netherlands was chosen as distribution country for the products coming from the different production countries (up till now Peru and India, with Marocco being added in 2011). For this purpose the Dutch based FairMail Cards was initiated in September 2007 as trading organization of "FairMail International". FairMail Cards trades 90% of the products to main stream and fair trade shops in the Netherlands, the UK and Belgium. But also sells through the FairMail webshop and to corporate clients looking for fair trade photography. The other 10% is sold in the production countries (mainly Peru so far). In the end of 2007 the need is felt for external control and certification to prove that FairMail is actually doing what it is promising to do: "provide the opportunity for disadvantaged teenagers to improve their own future and development oppertunities through photography and on a higher level to let the country that provides the beauty on "ethnic postcards" to win a fair part of the profit being made with this beauty". Therefor certification by the Dutch Association of World Shops was attained in March 2008. This helped FairMail to enter the Dutch market.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• World Fair Trade Day 2011
• Fair Trade
• World Fair Trade Day
• 14 May 2011
• poverty
• climate change
• economic crisis
• sustainable development
• Fairtrade
• Fairtrade breakfast
• World Fairtrade Day 2011
• World Fairtrade Day
• Trade artisans
• small producers
• ethical trade
• ethical consumption
• Handicrafts
• Fair Trade India
• Fair Trade greeting cards
• Fair Trade photographers
• Fair Trade Peru
• FairMail Cards
• Netherlands
• young photographers