China raked in more medals than any other country in the Beijing Olympic Games. However, the real winner was the Swiss Olympic Team who came first in sustainability and ethics by wearing T-shirts made of Fairtrade organic cotton.

The cotton in the Swiss shirts was grown in Mali. The shirts were manufactured in India,in a factory certified to SA8000, an independently monitored global accountability standard that sets out provisions for decent working conditions, freedom of association and living-wage.

Switcher, the Swiss importer of the T-shirts has provided apparel for the Olympic Team since 2002. When Fairtrade cotton first became available a couple of years ago, Switcher
and the Swiss Olympic Team decided together to equip the team with Fairtrade
shirts. They also inspected all the factories producing Olympic textiles for them, checking for workers' rights abuses.

The ethical victory of Switzerland has not attracted the attention that it deserves in the media. Nevertheless, account manager for textiles Roman Wittwer from the Swiss national Fairtrade initiative, Max Havelaar, is thrilled: “This shows great commitment to Fairtrade from the Swiss Olympic Team and from Switcher. I
hope they will continue the effort in the future. It’s a very good start.”

Switzerland is number one in the world in Fairtrade sales. Last year the Swiss bought 20.8
euros worth of Fairtrade products per capita. More than half of the bananas
purchased in Switzerland are Fairtrade certified.

Written by: Sini Maury