CBE for Fairtrade Foundation Director
29 March 2006
Today, Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, will go to the Palace to receive the insignia of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for “services to business”.
Alongside just 94 other CBEs this year, Harriet’s award recognizes the growing significance of Fairtrade to UK consumers and businesses and to the 5 million farmers, workers and their families around the world who benefit from the Fairtrade system. It also recognizes the importance of the FAIRTRADE Mark’s independent guarantee of a better deal.
Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation said:
“This honour celebrates the growing importance of Fairtrade which the nation is gradually taking to heart. It is a tribute to the achievement of all those who make Fairtrade work: from the farmers and workers in developing countries, to the companies and retailers who offer Fairtrade, to supporters up and down this country who campaign tirelessly for Fairtrade and of course everyone at the Fairtrade Foundation. Fairtrade is a unique alliance of all these people."
“Fairtrade shows that trade can be managed in a way that benefits farmers and workers while still succeeding commercially. It is incredibly popular with the public who want to play their part in making poverty history. This award will further boost our determination to realise our vision of a Fairtrade lifestyle for the public here and a better lifestyle for farmers and workers in Africa, Asia and Latin America”.
The Fairtrade Foundation awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products that meet internationally agreed Fairtrade standards and is responsible for driving consumer awareness of Fairtrade in the UK. Sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark grew by 40% to £195m in 2005. There are now over 1,500 Fairtrade – an 80% increase from 850 at Fairtrade Fortnight 2004. 301 producer groups from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia are now benefiting from selling to the UK Fairtrade market, up 50% from 197 last year.
Harriet continued: “In recent years, Fairtrade has grown faster than we could have imagined. There are now over 1,500 products from honey and mangoes to roses and cotton T-shirts. The British public currently drink over three million cups of Fairtrade hot beverages and enjoy nearly half a million Fairtrade bananas every day. But our vision is much bigger – if we are going to really tackle global poverty, then all of us here in the UK need to make Fairtrade our everyday habit. That’s our call for 2006, so that more farmers and workers in developing countries can participate in Fairtrade.”
For more information, please contact Martine Julseth or Eileen Maybin on 020 7440 7695/020 7440 7686 or e-mail martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk or eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk
Notes to Editor
- Harriet Lamb has been Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation since 2001. During Harriet’s time at the organisation, a flourishing grassroots social movement has grown across the UK. There are more than 170 Fairtrade Towns – towns where a commitment to Fairtrade has been made by the council, shops and businesses – together with schemes in universities, schools and faith groups.
- Harriet came to the Fairtrade Foundation from Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) in Germany where she was Acting Director and Banana Co-ordinator at the time that Fairtrade bananas were first launched in the UK. Before this, she worked as Head of Campaigns and Interim Director at the World Development Movement (WDM) and with other non-governmental organisations, always with an interest in international development issues.
- The theme for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight was Make Fairtrade Your Habit. It included a celebrity poster campaign where famous names revealed their Fairtrade shopping habits.
- The full range of Fairtrade products now includes coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, apples, pears, grapes, plums, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, lychees, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, fruit juices, quinoa, peppers, green beans, coconut, dried fruit, rooibos tea, green tea, cakes and biscuits, honey, muesli, cereal bars, jams, chutney and sauces, herbs and spices, nuts and nut oil, wine, beer, rum, flowers, sports balls, rice, yoghurt, babyfood, sugar body scrub, cotton wool and cotton products.
The Fairtrade Foundation,
Room 204, 16 Baldwin’s Gardens,
London EC1N 7RJ.
Tel: 020 7405 5942
Fax: 020 7405 5943
Web: www.fairtrade.org.uk