Behind the Barcode Campaign

Many of the products we buy today are made in the developing world. Yet the prices paid to those suppliers are often very low.

Many developing world farmers produce both subsistence crops (foods they eat) and cash crops (crops they sell for cash). Many of the cash crops are used in products that sell in Australia (eg cocoa, coffee, tea, cotton). Historically prices paid for these cash crops fluctuates widly, meaning that developing world farmers often receive less for their crop than it cost them to produce. This leaves them unable to pay debts and meet basic needs such as school costs and medical care. Moreover, with such low returns farmers often cannot afford to hire labourers and so may keep their children home to work, use forced labour, employ labourers but pay them little, or even resort to things such as prostitution or the sale of children into bonded labour in order to survive. Behind the Barcode believes that a "fair" price for any product must cover the farmer's costs of production and leave some over for discretionary spending. We therefore are asking Australian companies to pay a fair price for their inputs, for Austraslina retailers to stock and promote "FAIRTRADE" labelled goods, and for Australina consumers to preference fairly traded products.

But the problems don't end at the farmgate. Across the developing world millions of people work in factories sewing shirts, making toys, building DVD players, and much more for sale in Western countries. Yet the drive to keep prices low sees developing world suppliers paying poverty level wages, ignoring worker rights and workplace safetyand degrading the environment. In many instances cost cutting sees the use of child and slave labour.

Behind the Barcode seeks to influence Australian companies to require suppliers to observe a code of conduct that guarantees workers are paid a "living wage" (ie a wage that allows a worker and his/her dependents to meet their basic needs and have some discretionary income), worker rights are respected, workplace safety is ensured, child and forced labour are forbidden and the environment is sustianably engaged. Moreover we are asking Australin firms to ensure their supply chain is regulalrly and independently monitored to ensure these standards are being maintained and to report annually on their progress. We are asking consumers to preference companies that do this.

A key part of the campaign will be a website, to be launched in mid 2009 that provides an easy to use guide to the ethical sourcing practises of Australian companies.

Campaign Resources

Ethical Consumption Bible Studies
A four part bible study series exploring ethical consumption. More Info | Download

Fair Trade Fact Sheet
What is "Fairtrade" and how does it improve the lives of farmers in the developing world? More Info | Download