Fairtrade Fortnight: Trade Release

The number of Fairtrade products available in the UK has rocketed from around 150 in 2003 to more than 700 today. The speed at which the range has diversified reveals a major shift in attitudes towards Fairtrade.

The latest figures include 500 retail products, 200 of which can also be used in the catering trade, and 200 items which are solely for catering.

Fairtrade sales grow by around 40% year on year, and sales for 2004 are expected to be over £130million. Exact figures will be released at the Fairtrade Fortnight 2005 reception February 28 at HM Treasury.

Britain has overtaken Switzerland to become the biggest Fairtrade market in the world, with coffee, bananas, tea and chocolate still the most popular choices. Fairtrade wine and beer, roses and footballs were introduced last year, joining fruit juice, other fresh fruit, cocoa, sugar, snacks, honey and other products.

The theme for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight (March 1-13) is CHECK OUT FAIRTRADE. This is a call to check out the guarantees behind the FAIRTRADE Mark, the UK’s only guarantee of a fair deal for growers in developing countries. It’s also a call for consumers to check out the huge range of products now available and to take them to the checkout of their local store or supermarket.

Fairtrade composite products are a particular growth area to check out - items such as muesli, strawberry jam, fresh fruit salads, flapjacks and chocolate chip cookies which include a percentage of Fairtrade ingredients. Fairtrade ingredients must be used wherever they are available and the minimum Fairtrade content is 20% of the dry weight of any one ingredient. When companies are considering new lines they are looking at the possibility of including Fairtrade ingredients even during the product development stage.

“Now is the best time there has ever been for retailers and caterers to choose Fairtrade and for organisations to offer Fairtrade in the workplace,” says Ian Bretman, Deputy Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. “There is a tremendous amount of choice when it comes to choosing Fairtrade products. Many people don’t realise how many products there are and how quickly the range has diversified. This is one of the modern faces of Fairtrade. Fairtrade suppliers have responded to the demand for products which are high quality and convenient.”

Fairtrade Fortnight is an ideal time for anyone thinking of switching to Fairtrade products to take the step. “Every year awareness of Fairtrade and sales of Fairtrade products leap in March during Fairtrade Fortnight,” says Ian Bretman, “This spotlight on Fairtrade makes it an ideal time to make the switch and when people try it and find there is no compromise on quality, service and price and they stick with it. Customers are also starting to look around for the FAIRTRADE Mark in more product categories. They won’t just reach for the Fairtrade coffee – they’ll find a Fairtrade chocolate biscuit to go with it.”

Ian Bretman adds: “It’s so quick and easy to choose products with the FAIRTRADE Mark, and yet the difference this makes to producers can be dramatic.” The guarantees behind the FAIRTRADE Mark are:

• Farmers receive a fair and stable price for their products
• Farmers and plantation workers have the opportunity to improve their lives
• Greater respect for the environment
• Small-scale farmers gain a stronger position in world markets
• A closer link between consumers and producers

Tadesse Meskela, General Manager of Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Co-operative Union in Ethiopia, will be touring the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight. Oromia supports small producers in becoming economically self-sufficient and ensuring their families have enough to eat in a country prone to famine. As Tadesse explains. “With Fairtrade coffee, farmers in Ethiopia are getting their deserved reward. Fairtrade is not just a selling and buying process, it is creating a global family.” Several other Fairtrade producers will also be in the UK, sharing their experiences and checking out their products on our shop shelves. They include Regina Joseph, a banana farmer from the Caribbean.

Most major retailers are planning promotional activities during Fairtrade Fortnight to highlight Fairtrade products on their shelves and at the checkout. Elsewhere on the high street, café chains and restaurants will also be drawing attention to the Fairtrade tea, coffee, juices and snacks now on their menus.

A leaflet ‘Make it your Business to Get Involved’ has been produced by the Fairtrade Foundation, inviting restaurants and cafés to switch to Fairtrade and get involved in Fairtrade Fortnight. They are being distributed by Fairtrade catering suppliers and independent wholefood shops, and are available at www.fairtrade.org.uk

This year an estimated 7,500 events, organised by networks of supporters, will take place all over the country during Fairtrade Fortnight – everything from taste tests of Fairtrade foods in supermarkets, workplaces and churches to a ‘Fairtrade Fling’ barn dance.

Consumer awareness of the FAIRTRADE Mark is now 40% according to MORI and Fairtrade is one of the fastest growing sectors of the food market. The British Medical Association, the Youth Hostels Association and Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class lounges are among the many to have chosen Fairtrade.

“Fairtrade is a very simple and practical proposition. The choices you make for your business can help people in some of the poorest countries in the world while still delivering quality and value for money,” says Ian Bretman. “Now is the time to CHECK OUT FAIRTRADE.”

The list of suppliers of Fairtrade products can be found on the Fairtrade Foundation website www.fairtrade.org.uk.

Notes to Editor
1. The leaflet ‘Make It Your Business to Get Involved’ can be ordered via the website or by calling 020 7405 5942.

2. Major retailers are showing their commitment to Fairtrade. There will be 1,000 tastings run by Fairtrade supporters in Co-op stores around the country and tastings too at selected Asda, Somerfield and Tesco stores. Sainsbury’s will have a leaflet giving information about other Fairtrade products inside its Fairtrade banana bags. Waitrose is producing a Fairtrade recipe card. Many supermarkets will also be featuring Fairtrade at the point of sale, on off shelf displays, other promotional activity and discounts. There will be a feature encouraging shoppers to Check Out Fairtrade on Tesco TV.

3. The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 5 million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 49 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body that awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards.

4. AMT Coffee launched its switch to 100 percent Fairtrade coffee in its 46 coffee kiosks around the UK in November 2004, whilst Marks & Spencer switched to 100 percent Fairtrade coffee in its 198 in-store Café Revives in September 2004. Fairtrade coffee is also available in Costa Coffee, Pret A Manger and Starbucks.

5. Coffee continues to be the biggest seller when it comes to Fairtrade with sales growing from £13.7m in 1998 to £34.3m in 2003. Bananas are next on £24.3m in 2003 (up from £7.8m in 2000) followed by chocolate (£10.9m) and tea (£9.5m).

For further information please contact the Fairtrade Foundation: 020 7440 7695 or switchboard 020 7405 5942, mobile 07734 566079 / 0790 4455666, Email: media@fairtrade.org.uk and media.one@fairtrade.org.uk www.fairtrade.org.uk