We pay ₹200 for a cuppa, but do we wonder how much of it goes to the farmer who harvested the coffee beans, the manufacturer who packaged it, the agency that transported it and the rest of the people in the supply chain? At every stage of product creation, there are many hands are at work, and some of them are invisible and don’t receive due recognition or compensation.
Jaganathan Raghupathy, a resident of Poonamallee, paused to think about these “invisible” hands at work — and that led to the creation of Chennai Fair Trade Coalition (CFTC). Jaganathan has many years of experience working in the field of supply chain management.
CFTC has just arrived on the block and it will create awareness about fair trade, identify businesses that practise it and rank them.
“The entrepreneurs can stick to rules of fair trade laid down by any of the international organisations recognised in this area, which include United Nations’ World Fair Trade Organisation, Germany’s Fair Trade International or India Trade Promotion Organisation,” says Jaganathan, adding that CFTC has been inspired by the New York City Fair Trade Coalition.
On why he has undertaken this work, Jaganathan says, “Fair trade is important in today’s world. With more good-quality products sold in fair trade, different sections of society are uplifted.”
Jaganathan says he has already identified 15 enterprises that are run on the tenets of fair trade.
“I am not against businesses doing good profit, but all components of the supply chain should receive a good share of it for their labour. While the city gets rich, the poor shouldn’t be left out and that is not development,” says the 29-year-old.
