Pants to Poverty part 3: Delhi-rious

Ridding the world of bad pants, one pair at a time

By Ben Ramsden

I’ve now left the capital city of India but it has left an in-delhi-ble mark on me! (sorry, bad pun!) It wasn’t the architecture, the explosion of people and noise or the food (will try to avoid obvious pun!) but the people I had the privilege to meet with and the ideas that they shared with me that resonate so deeply with our pants!

For me, Delhi was a place of many answers and ideas but most importantly signs of things to come.

I had two kinds of meetings, the first being with organisations that are building long term, sustainable and dynamic alternatives to the flawed structures that bring us our clothes and food. These organisations, the Association of Fairtrade and Organic Farming, Solidaridad India and Prakuthri are all rooted in the reality of farmers’ and workers’ lives and are all working to develop long term, sustainable supply chains that put the interests of the farmers, workers, and their families first.

All of them offer exciting challenges to the current system with tangible alternatives whilst focusing on how all stakeholders can truly participate in the supply chain. Perfectly, I also met with Praxis (a spin off from ActionAid India) who are experts in participatory methodology, and who share our Pants vision in ridding the world of bad pants!

Questions like, is fairtrade enough, can it do more? Why are organic and fairtrade separated, and how can we take our movement to the next level, were tantalising areas of discussion and all I can say is to watch this space as the answers to some are very much in the making!

The second type of meetings were on a more commercial level… meetings with managers of nationwide chains and brands as well as our friends from Pratibha in their Delhi office. India as an economy is in boomtime, and the market for fashion is exploding, my favourite question?? What kind of pants do people wear in India?! Again, all we can say is watch this space.

The one resounding message that I got from all who I met with was the fundamental role and importance of you the new consumer. Fairtrade, as we have seen from Agrocel and Pratibha, really can lift people out of poverty, but without continued demand and commitment from the market there is a risk that the bubble would burst. However, if we continue in the same vein, the amazing impact of fairtrade will grow and grow revolutionising yet more lives and building a true challenge to all of the unfair trade that still continues unabated!

Ben www.pantstopoverty.com