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Oceania
 

17/01/10

Australia: Fairtrade Products Sales Soar

14/01/10

Australia: Organic Dairy Expansion Plan for Tasmania

23/12/09

Australia: Inika Re-Launches Mineral Cosmetics

 

 

17/01/10

Australia: Fairtrade Products Sales Soar

Underwear is the latest in a string of new products on the Australian Fairtrade market and one of the fastest growing in the world, with sales up 80 per cent last year to Aus $23 million.

More than 90 percent of those sales are coffee, tea and chocolates and the Fairtrade share of the chocolate market is set to boom this year with Cadbury chocolate recently announcing that its best-selling Dairy Milk bars would carry the Fairtrade label by Easter.

Sales of sports balls stitched in Pakistan and organically grown rice, sugar and quinoa are also growing, but it is the untapped cotton market that the ethical brand has its eyes on.

Melbourne entrepreneur Arpad Maksay set up his Fairtrade undies shop in Hampton in August, and now supplies ethically minded shops throughout Melbourne.

The cotton is grown organically in the Vidarbha region in central India, which became known as the country's "suicide belt" after it was reported that an average of one farmer a day took their lives because of crippling debt.

"Even if the bottom falls out of the international cotton market, the farmers we work with are now guaranteed a minimum price," Mr Maksay said. "There's also an extra cost or margin that we factor in, and that goes directly to the farming community, for them to do whatever they want to do with it, whether it's a new medical clinic or fixing the sewerage system."

Mr Maksay says the profits are enough for him to earn a crust "but not much more". He was unable to say exactly how much of the retail price of the undies went to the farmers, but said they earned about 30 per cent more than they would if they farmed conventional cotton.

He said farming collectives in the region had reported a tripling of seasonal profits since embarking on the Pants to Poverty project.

Izzy McCoy, a former plastic surgeon and now a filmmaker, describes himself as an "all organic kind of guy" but says he buys the boxer-briefs not only because of his politics. "I gave them the big two-day wear . . . It's a guy thing. They work."

Pam Car bought her 18-year-old son a pair because she thought they would appeal to his sense of fashion.

"They very much like the Bonds and the CK-style where you show the waistband, and that's how they're all wearing their undies at the moment," she says. "But he's done politics at school which he's been very keen on and I think he'll be interested in where they come from."

Sustainable Foods Summit
The latest statistics on the global market for fairtrade products, as well as case studies of successful fairtrade product companies, will be given in the upcoming Sustainable Foods Summit. The summit takes place
in Amsterdam on 10-11th June 2010. More details

Related Report:
#1001-91 The European Market for Fairtrade Fruit & Vegetables  

Source: Sunday Age (Melbourne, Australia)

 

14/01/10

Australia: Organic Dairy Expansion Plan for Tasmania

An organic farm is promoting a plan for a vast Tasmanian organic dairy industry with six cheese factories across the state.

Elgaar Farm is running a series of meetings laying out its blueprint for 180 certified organic dairy farms and farmer-owned dairy co-operatives in Cygnet, Oatlands, Swansea, Ledgerwood, Deloraine and Wynyard.

Owner Joe Gretschmann is projecting earnings of Aus $190 million a year and is seeking financial backing from the State and Federal Government and the private sector.

"We are targeting a market where we can sell the kilogram of cheese for Aus $15, which is a lot bigger than the conventional cheese or powder milk market," he says.

"Those profits will then go back, as the farmers will own 50 per cent of the company and we will own the other 50 per cent of the company."


Source: ABC Rural News

 

23/12/09

Australia: Inika Re-Launches Mineral Cosmetics

Following its merger with Australian organic skin care brand Mukti, an Inika treatment line is in the works for 2010. Also, the New South Wales, Australia-based brand was re-launched last month with revamped packaging and product formulations.

“We needed to go back to the drawing board,” said Miranda Bond, Inika's founder, adding while the brand received positive feedback after bowing in the UK in 2006, the consensus from retailers was that its packaging and visual identity missed the mark.

“It was not sleek enough,” she said. “Especially in Britain where the consumer is so design-conscious [and there is] fierce competition between make-up brands.”

The brand has been entirely overhauled. Its packaging, for instance, which previously included glossy black containers, now features a soft-touch finish. Inika's logo has also evolved from one bearing a prominent swirl above the brand name to a more streamlined insignia.

“Our packaging now looks as glamorous and sophisticated as the products inside,” said Bond.

Product formulations have also been addressed, with a stronger focus on skin care and antiaging benefits. Using technology acquired in the merger with Mukti, additional categories have also been included in the brand's portfolio, such as organic liquid foundation, bronzing mousse and Lip Whips, an organic alternative to lip gloss.

Product prices range from GBP 11.50 ($18.38) for a 1.2-g. eye shadow to GBP 25 ($39.95) for an 8g. foundation.

In the UK, Inika is sold online, through beauty salons and at Whole Foods. Also, Harvey Nichols and Sephora in Japan began carrying the brand last month.

Organic Monitor Comment
Inika has re-designed its packaging to give its products a prestige image. Consumers are demanding natural cosmetics, however they do not want to compromise on product quality and the packaging should reflect this. Inika is one of many Australian natural personal care companies that are successfully accessing export markets. The 'clean and green' image of Australia is a contributing factor behind the success of such companies.

Related Report: #4101-60 The Australian Market for Natural & Organic PC Products

Source: WWD / Organic Monitor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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