ETHLETIC Sportsballs FAQ's:
- How is the Fairtrade premium spent? How do we know the money is being used properly?
- Why are sports balls not delivered inflated?
- How long will it take for a sports ball to reach me after ordering?
- What is the difference between our footballs and the major brands?
- What is the difference between footballs offered by Fair Deal Trading and cheap discounted footballs?
- What are the quality criteria for Footballs?
- My Sports ball is losing air - is this normal?
- What are balls made of?
- Who monitors that the fair trade criteria are complied with?
How is the Fairtrade premium spent? How do we know the money is being used properly?
Fair Deal Trading pays a 20% fair trade premium on all of its sports balls. We also pay 20% for footwear and for our unique GreenTips Rubber ™ we pay a 20% premium on every kilo of rubber tapped.
A fair trade premium is crucial to the practice of fair trade as is the right of the workers to choose how that premium is spent. All of our fair trade projects have established joint bodies which represent workers and management, these joint bodies decide how best to spend the premium in order to maximise benefits for workers and their families. An example of one such project is as follows:
The rubber for our sports balls is mainly sourced from South India. The plantation there has only recently started applying fair trade principals thanks to Fair Deal Trading. The joint body has met a number of times and has decided to save all Fair Trade premium payments as they have an ambitious plan to build up a fund from which higher education for children of the plantation workers will be paid.
Our processor in Pakistan, Talon Sports, has been participating in fair trade since 1998 so a far larger amount of fair trade premiums have been accumulated The most important measure financed is the health care project for all those involved in ball manufacturing (AND their families) - an absolute first for this type of production process. There is now a fully equipped clinic and a full time doctor, entirely paid for by our fair trade premiums.
Furthermore there is a fund for micro credits, which opens up the opportunity for workers and their families to reduce their dependency on (seasonal) orders for footballs and at the same time add to the growth of the village economy. Examples are small shops, a welding workshop and irrigation pumps for the fields. More information on these and all of our fair trade case studies can be found in the case studies section of the web site.
Another share of the premium is used to improve working conditions (lighting, ventilation, drinking water) in the stitching centres in the villages: It is a specific achievement of Fair Trade to retain stitching in the villages, in the reach of women, rather than concentrate the work in huge stitching halls near the city.
Lastly, since Fair Deal Trading voluntarily pays a higher fair trade premium than required by FLO, our supplier is the only Fairtrade certified sports company where workers receive 50% higher wages for the stitching of balls with the Fairtrade label: If everyone paid this rate families would not have to send their children to work.