Fairtrade is no longer a new concept with many major retailers stocking fairtrade products including own-brand items. The Fairtrade Foundation is the UK licensing body and their fairtrade mark is an independent guarantee that producers are getting a better deal for their wares. The Fairtrade Foundation is a member of the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International (FLO) which sets the international fairtrade standards.
The Fairtrade Foundation was established in 1992 by a number of British charities and is a registered charity itself, with some paid and some volunteer staff. Fairtrade itself was ‘created’ in the Netherlands in the late 1980s and today 20 countries have their own licensing bodies like the Fairtrade Foundation.
So what is fairtrade? Well, products like coffee, tea and chocolate, that we in the north have come to depend on, are produced in the warmer climates of the south. The prices paid for these commodities have not risen in real terms over the last forty years, whilst the value of fertilisers, pesticides and machinery has increased substantially. Consequently many of the people who grow these crops have to work harder and longer for less money. On top of this the market price of commodities frequently drops below the cost of producing them. The low price of coffee in the early nineties had a disastrous effect on the lives of millions of small farmers, forcing many into crippling debt and countless others to lose their land.
In order to generate greater sales for the benefit of many more disadvantaged and marginalised producers it was important to get commercial manufacturers involved, and to get fairtrade into the supermarket where most people do their shopping. Today the fairtrade product range certified by the Fairtrade Foundation includes Fairtrade coffee, drinking chocolate, chocolate bars, orange juice, tea, honey, sugar, Fairtrade Fruit and more.
Please support Fairtrade by purchasing products from Fairtrade Retailers or even make a donation at Fairtrade Donations
You can visit the Fairtrade Website at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk
