Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Gilyeat, and I'm your geography teacher for today.

Today's lesson, we are going to be learning about ethical trading, which is the sixth lesson of the global trade topic.

We've got loads of interesting things to learn about, so let's get going.

So our lesson outcome for today is that you can explain the choices we make can affect other people, places, and environments, and reflect on my own opinions about ethical trade.

We have three keywords for today's lesson.

Responsibility.

So responsibility is ownership of our own actions and choices.

Companies.

A company is a business organisation that makes money from selling goods or services.

And government is the group of people who are in charge of running the country.

We have got two key learning cycles.

The first one is we are going to be learning about what is ethical trade.

And the second learning cycle, we're gonna think about who is responsible for ethical trade.

So let's get going about learning about what ethical trade is.

Ethical trade is trade that aims to make sure that products that we buy don't harm the environment, animals, or the people who grew or made them.

So it encompasses lots of different aspects.

There are different examples of ethical trading schemes.

So one that you may have heard of is Fairtrade.

So you might have seen the Fairtrade stickers that you get on bananas, but also loads of other products, such as chocolate, coffee, even shampoo.

And the Rainforest Alliance.

Cruelty Free International.

The Fair Wear Foundation.

And the Soil Association.

All of these are different organisations and schemes which aim to protect the environment and people.

So, first of all, we're gonna learn about the Fairtrade.

So the Fairtrade mark was set up in 1994, and it shows that a product has met a set of internationally agreed standards to help protect workers and the environment.

Now, if we have a look at this banana that I've got on the slide there, we can see it's got a Fairtrade sticker on it.

So that's the Fairtrade logo, okay? Now, today, there are actually thousands of different products which have the Fairtrade label.

We'll learn about some of the other different examples of these ethical trading schemes as well.

So the Rainforest Alliance aims to protect forests and improve the livelihoods of farmers and forest communities.

So making sure that we aren't chopping down all the forests because that affects the people that live there, the communities, and it isn't good for the environment.

So if you go and buy a product and it's got that Rainforest Alliance stamp on it, that's a good thing.

So it means that you're protecting those people in those areas.

The Cruelty Free International aims to make sure that animals were not harmed in the creation of a product.

So looking after animal welfare, or just making sure that if a product has been tested, it's not being tested on animals, or if it has, the animal hasn't been harmed in the creation of the product.

Fair Wear works to improve the working conditions and rights for people making our clothes, okay? Now, if you've listened to some of the other lessons, you might have found that some of the working conditions in a lot of factories is not very good.

So Fair Wear makes sure that people that work in those factories have got good working conditions, they are paid properly, they get rest breaks, yeah, and that they don't have an awful time at work, basically.

And the Soil Association makes sure that farming methods used are better for the environment.

Now, a lot of the farming that's done nowadays uses a lot of chemicals, so pesticides and fertilisers, to kind of create greater crop yields and make sure that pests don't eat all the crops.

So that's good in some ways, but actually, a lot of those chemicals can be really harmful on the environment.

So the Soil Association makes sure that the farming methods that are used try to protect the environment as much as they possibly can.

So we can put ethical trade into these kind of main aims, making sure that farmers and workers are paid correctly, protecting the environment, protecting the rights of the farmers, trying to improve the lives of the farmers and their communities.

Now we're gonna learn about Fairtrade in a little bit more detail.

So Fairtrade, alongside making sure that the farmers are earning enough money, and making sure that they've got protective clothing, and making sure that they are looking after their environment, they also have something called the Fairtrade Premium.

Now, this is an additional amount of money which is given to the local communities to help them improve, okay? So that money could be spent on lots of different things.

And actually, they'll often include the community to make the decisions about what the money should be spent on.

So they might spend it on health care, they might spend it on schools, they might spend it on more running water taps.

It's up to the community to think what they would benefit most from.

So it's an additional sum of money which really, really benefits those people.

Right, let's check what we've learned so far.

Which two of these does ethical trade aim to do? Is it a, make sure farmers get paid enough, b, protect the environment, or c, keep the products as cheap as possible? So it's making sure the farmers get paid enough and making sure that we're protecting the environment as much as possible.

So here we've got Raf, who is a Fairtrade farmer, and we're gonna listen about how Fairtrade and ethical trade has improved his life.

So Raf says that, "Ethical trade has meant we have been using sustainable farming methods.

This means that our soil is of better quality and we can grow more crops.

Due to the Fairtrade Premium, I'm now able to send my children to school so they can get an education.

I always get paid a fair amount of money for the work that I do." So we're onto our first task now.

So, first of all, what I'd like you to do is write your own definition of what you think ethical trade is.

Then you're going to pretend you are a farmer who now works on an ethical trade farm.

I want you to complete a speech bubble to explain how ethical trade has improved your life.

You could either do this in your exercise book, what you are working on, or there's a worksheet to go with this lesson as well.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's feedback.

So my definition for ethical trade is trade which aims to make sure that products that we buy don't harm the environment, animals, and protect workers' rights.

And what I have done for my speech bubble, again, you didn't have to write exactly this, but hopefully you've got something similar.

Ethical trade has improved my life in so many ways.

Due to the Fairtrade Premium, the schools have improved.

I can send my children to school and get to the doctors if I am ill.

I also always get paid a set amount, which is enough to live on.

This gives me peace of mind that I will always be able to afford to feed my family.

I also work sensible hours so I don't become too tired and ill.

Okay, we're on to our second learning cycle now, which is thinking about who is responsible for ethical trade.

Now, I want you to think.

Who do you think is responsible for ethical trade? We know that it's good because it's good for the environment, it's good for the workers, it's good for animals.

But who do you think is responsible to make sure that this happens, to make sure those people are paid correctly? Have a quick chat with your partner.

Now, if we're thinking about ethical trade responsibility, there are kind of three different things you can think about.

So the responsibility could come down to us as consumers.

So we are the people that buy the products.

So when we go out to the shop, we have a choice of which products that we buy.

Companies that sell the products.

But also, governments who make the rules in the country where the products are either made or sold, okay? So there are three different areas, if you like, of who could be responsible for this ethical trade.

So we're gonna look at each of them in a little bit more detail.

So, first of all, when a consumer go shopping, they have a choice to make.

They can either choose just the non-ethical trade products or they can buy ethical products, such as Fairtrade, ones that got the Rainforest Alliance stamp on them, the ones that say Fair Wear.

Now, you might think, well, one person just choosing to buy that ethical product won't have much difference, okay? The idea is that if more and more people buy ethical products, then companies are more likely to sell them, because companies will think, well, that's what the consumer wants, so we're going to provide and we're going to sell those ethical products for people to buy.

So even though just one person buying a Fairtrade chocolate bar or a Fairtrade banana won't have much difference, if we collectively try and buy more of these products together, then it does have an impact.

Alongside personal responsibility, consumer choices will be affected by factors including cost and availability.

Now, one of the issues with Fairtrade products is that often they are a little bit more expensive, and it can be difficult for people, especially in a cost of living crisis, to always choose the ethical products because they don't have enough money to do so.

So there are factors which can affect people's choice of products when they go shopping.

Now, companies have the responsibility to make sure that they are looking after their workers and not harming the environment or animals.

Ultimately, it is the companies that make the big decisions on the production of these goods.

So whether that be in the selling of the product or whether that be in the production line, it is the bosses, the CEOs of these companies, which kind of make the final decisions about how they are going to look after their workers, about how they are going to protect the environment.

And therefore, you could argue that it's the companies that have got the biggest responsibility out of all of them.

Alongside this though, governments have a responsibility to make sure that companies are looking after their workers and the environment, okay? So governments can do this by putting special laws in place to make sure that companies follow the rules.

Then they need to make sure that the companies are following the rules.

So they need to check up on them, they need to have people out making sure that the workers have got good working conditions, et cetera.

And if that company isn't following the rules, then sanctions may be put in place to make sure that it will do in the future.

Let's check our understanding.

Do you think, so true or false, governments have no responsibility for ensuring that ethical trade happens? That's false.

Can you justify your answer? Governments have a responsibility to make sure that companies are looking after their workers and not harming the environment.

Now, we've moved on to the second main task of the lesson.

What I would like you to do is put in order, so governments, companies, and personal responsibility, into who you think is the most responsible and who you think is the least responsible.

There is no correct order to this, okay? So it's up to you which order you put them in.

So do you think it's us as consumers, do you think it's the government, or do you think it's companies? It's your decision.

You then need to justify your answer.

So explain why you have put them in that order.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's feedback for this.

So this is my opinion, but in no way this is the correct opinion.

So I've put companies at the top because I think it's the companies that make the biggest choices of who is protected and how they choose to look after the environment.

I then put governments second to that because ultimately it's the governments who make sure that the companies follow the right rules.

And I've put consumers at the bottom.

I've put it at the bottom because even though we do have personal responsibility, actually, I also think that not everybody can always afford to buy these ethical trading products.

So if we can, brilliant, but if we can't, we need to make sure that companies and governments are doing things which make sure that we can do in the future.

So here's my explanation.

I think that companies have the most responsibility for ethical trade.

I think this because they have the most influence on how the products are made, and they are the ones who can make real change.

I think consumers are the least responsible because not everyone can always afford to buy ethically-sourced products.

As well, ethically-sourced products are not always available.

That's it for today's lesson.

So we'll go through the summary.

Ethical trade aims to ensure the products that we buy don't harm the environment, animals, or people.

Ethical trade aims to make sure that farmers are paid a fair price for their products.

And there are a number of ethical trading schemes, often identified by labelling on products.

Governments, companies, and consumers all have responsibility for ensuring ethical trade.

Okay, that's it for today's lesson.

Good work.

There's a few tricky concepts to get our head around there.

And I'll see you later.

Have a good rest of your day.