Trade and Consumer Affairs
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DESCRIPTION
Fair trade is a model of production and trade based on dialogue, transparency and respect, which seeks to maximise equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trade conditions and guaranteeing the rights of disadvantaged producers and workers, especially in the developing world. Fair trade has a direct bearing on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly on Goal 12: “Responsible Production and Consumption”.
On 26 October 2011, in connection with the International Fair Trade Towns Campaign, Madrid City Council welcomed Madrid's accreditation as a “Fairtrade Town”.
For the purpose of obtaining and maintaining this accreditation, a collegial body called the Municipal Fair Trade Forum was set up, with representatives from the city government as well as social and economic stakeholders. Its coordination, advice and participation enable the synergistic approach required to create sectoral policies that foster fair trade, which are given concrete expression in two-year work programmes.
Working through the Municipal Institute for Consumer Affairs (IMC), in the course of implementing successive work programmes over the years approved by the Municipal Fair Trade Forum, Madrid City Council has taken myriad actions based on three strategic pillars: raising awareness and understanding; fostering the consumption of fair trade products; and monitoring and evaluation, which can be summarised as follows:
- Campaigns to disseminate fair trade values by means of street furniture and other media (at least two per year)
- Inclusion of ethical fair trade clauses in public procurement by Madrid City Council
- Organisation of fair trade events in public streets or other spaces to help raise citizen awareness, and celebration of World Fair Trade Day each year with an attempt to make it part of the San Isidro festivities
- Inclusion and involvement of fair trade in various events organised by other municipal government departments
- Holding seminars and conferences at the local and international level. Madrid was responsible for organising the 12th International Fair Trade Town Conference featuring the participation of experts and representatives from over 40 countries, with a strong presence of producers from Latin America and representatives from the most important international fair trade organisations, the Fair Trade Advocacy Office in Brussels and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
- Inclusion of workshops and educational sessions on fair trade in annual training programmes related to consumption, and in training for municipal employees
- Creation of specific fair trade outreach material and inclusion of a special briefing on the corporate website with a list of establishments where fair trade products can be acquired or consumed
- Establishment of tools for collaboration with fair trade organisations that operate in the city of Madrid, for the purpose of conducting joint outreach actions
- Inclusion of fair trade in the Government Operational Programme and municipal strategies, including, with respect to the present, the SDG Localisation Strategy and the Food Strategy
- Collaboration with other cities and national organisations to spread fair trade values and raise awareness of actions taken in Madrid
- Joint participation, with Europe's most advanced cities in the area of fair trade, in the Network of EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade, of which Madrid has been a member since 2018, after it took second prize at the first edition of the EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award. This award, which recognises cities’ fair trade actions, is funded by the EC's Directorate-General for Trade and is given out by Global Partnerships. Its recognition of Madrid reflects our city’s inclusive vision of fair trade and acknowledges the work carried out over the years by Madrid City Council and its large network of partner cities in Latin America.
- Ongoing efforts to follow-up on and assess the actions of the two-year work programmes and to calculate and evaluate the indicators set by the International Campaign in Spain, to determine the progress made by the city in disseminating and implementing fair trade
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the municipal fair trade strategy are:
- Provide information about fair trade and raise awareness of it among Madrid's citizens, companies and social organisations
- Facilitate access to and increase the range of fair trade products in shops, hospitality establishments and companies in Madrid, as well as in educational centres and other public and private cultural facilities
- Incorporate fair trade and responsible consumption in the municipal government, as part of the regulations governing public procurement and assets
- Maintain Madrid’s status as a Fairtrade Town and meet new challenges
DURATION
The municipal Fair Trade Strategy is given concrete form in work programmes, which generally have a duration of two years. Madrid has been part of the International Fair Trade Towns Campaign for the past 10 years, and it strives to maintain its status through ongoing actions planned each year to promote this sort of trade.
INVESTMENT
During the current term in office, the following investments have been made. 2019: €11,536; 2020: €27,468; 2020: €33,020. In the past two years, investment has been limited given that the pandemic has made it impossible to hold events. The investment planned for 2022 is 60,000 euros.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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