SPAIN

The structure of fair trade

There are four importers in Spain: Alternativa 3, Sandino Ideas, Alternativa Solidaria, Interm¢n (a foundation for the Third World now also involved in importing and retailing). The first two organizations mentioned are also active in wholesaling. There are 11 retail organizations: Alternativa 3, Sandino Ideas, Alternativa Solidaria, Sodepaz, Herriak Aske, Equi Mercado, Aladino, Poquis, s'Altra Senalla, Solera Solidaria, Yp‚. Tasba Pri, formerly a wholesale organization, is now linked with Sandino and Alternativa 3 and exist no longer as an individual organization.

In total, Spain has 48 points of sale for fair trade products. The sector employs 43 persons. There are no international trademarks yet, but four national marks exist: Tiendas de Solidaridad, Liberaci¢n, Alternativa 3, Mark A3.

The retail channels include mail-order catalogues, individual and chains of fair trade stores, and individual commercial stores, but no supermarket chains.

The budget for education and marketing is 60,000 ECU, used for the dissemination of information through various channels.

The world shops have been established by different organizations, so each of them follows different procedures and approaches. Most fair trade organizations meet regularly every 2-3 months. There is a coordinator who functions as an "umbrella", but only on an informal basis. The coordinator speaks on behalf of the participants in the fair trade meetings.

The main goal in the short and medium term is to set up an import organization for all the organizations, which should also perform a regional task in sales, information and education. The Spanish fair trade sector is seeking to build a common image and introduce more trademarks.

The market for fair trade

Wholesale turnover in 1994 amounted to 250,000 ECU, and retail turnover to 1.5 million ECU (apparently the retail margins are extremely high). Commercial retailers sometimes agree with the principles of fair trade, but they may also regard fair trade as just another competitor. Price differences with the commercial market range between 0 and 50%.

In some cases, the most attractive products are difficult to obtain because of a shortage of stock. The availability of semi-industrial and food products can always be guaranteed more easily. The points of sale are attractive and inviting as time and effort have been taken to ensure a good presentation.

Fair trade products in Spain include: handicrafts, textiles, food, literature, recycled paper, jewellery, musical instruments, games and music.

The average customers are women, 17-30 years old, students, employees, open-minded persons.

In contrast to other European countries, coffee is not an important article in fair trade. Price differences with regular coffee are too high (up to 400%), although in the past few months these differences have been decreasing, thus allowing this market to grow.

In the last four years, retail turnover has grown spectacularly, from 95,000 ECU to 1,5 million ECU. The number of points of sale has increased from 8 to 48.

New points of sale are to be established in the form of shops, commercial wholesalers and retailers, showrooms, groups and development NGOs.

Table 1: The structure of fair trade in Spain

Table 2: The market for fair trade in Spain

	[Other Fair TradeMarks] [Resources] [Survey Contents]
Back		Next

Return to Main