Fairtrade Firsts Mark The Close of Fairtrade Fornight 2006

Fairtrade Fortnight 2006 revealed that sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark are now running at a rate of £200 million per year with 301 producer groups selling to the UK market.

But it also provided an opportunity for UK consumers to learn about the farmers in some of the world’s poorest countries and get into the Fairtrade habit.

Speaking at the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight 2006, Silver Kasoro-Atwoki from the Mabale Growers Tea Factory Ltd in Uganda explained what Fairtrade means to tea growers in his country: “Through Fairtrade, we have been able to change our agricultural techniques to improve the quality and quantity of our teas. We have opened new access roads to benefit all the community, assisted in providing primary healthcare through construction of health clinics and added a new block to the local secondary school. Fairtrade is significantly contributing towards the social improvement of our community and providing a better future for our youngsters.”

New TNS research for Fairtrade Fortnight revealed that, while the concept of Fairtrade continues to grow in popularity with the UK public, products still need to become more visible in shops and cafes for Fairtrade to influence people’s often entrenched shopping habits. Fortnight 2006 sought to encourage people to become part of the ‘quiet revolution’ which has seen such great Fairtrade success in the UK – the world’s biggest market for goods carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark. The aim was to persuade consumers who have purchased products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark to buy a more varied selection from the wide range of 1,500 products and explain to those who have not bought Fairtrade products why they should adopt the Fairtrade habit. This is why this year’s call to consumers was Make Fairtrade Your Habit.

Retailers responded to the call for action by laying on in-store promotions and making groundbreaking announcements during the two week period. Shoppers also rose to the challenge by making Fairtrade their habit.

Sainsbury revealed that sales of Fairtrade goods at Sainsbury rose 70% last week, compared with the same week last year. In the first week of Fairtrade Fortnight, Sainsbury said that sales were well over the £1m mark. Sainsbury added that last week sales of Fairtrade fresh food increased by 22%.

AgroFair's Fairtrade pineapple sales over Fairtrade Fortnight saw a 52% increase in volumes this year compared with last year.

Also speaking at the launch of Fortnight, Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer announced that not only have they become the first high street retailer to offer a range of own brand items made with Fairtrade certified cotton, but they have also switched their entire range of tea and coffee to Fairtrade. On the same day, Virgin Trains announced a switch of all its tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar and sprinkles on board to Fairtrade. Fairtrade certified nuts appeared in UK supermarkets for the first time.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation said: “So many people in the UK have been won over by the idea of Fairtrade and want to shop with respect. And the beauty of Fairtrade Fortnight is that it has provided an opportunity to bring growers, shoppers and retailers together.

“The thousands of events taking place up and down the country have brought Fairtrade alive because people were able to hear from the growers and workers themselves about the benefits of Fairtrade and taste-test products they have not tried before”. “Our experience is that when people understand the difference Fairtrade can make they are all too willing to choose the products, especially when they realise how good they are”.

Conservative party leader David Cameron marked his first 100 days in office during Fairtrade Fortnight by pledging that his staff at party HQ are to drink Fairtrade tea and coffee.

Comfort Kwaasibea, cocoa farmer, Nankese village, Ghana described the impact of Fairtrade while touring the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight: “Through Fairtrade and Kuapa Kokoo [her cooperative] we now have a lot of progress. We have good drinking water, toilet facilities and schools. Kuapa pay the farmers on time and there is no cheating. Before Fairtrade there was often cheating when the cocoa was weighed. Cocoa was taken into the shed and we could not see it being weighed.”

Around 8,000 activities took place throughout the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight – in workplaces, clubs, universities, cafes and restaurants, shops and supermarkets, churches and other venues – to explain how a small change in shopping habits brings big changes for farmers and their communities in developing countries. Growers toured the UK – two banana farmers from the Windward Islands, two cocoa farmers from Ghana, a wine grower from Chile a cotton producer from India and a tea producer from Uganda – took part in conferences, fairs and other events.

The biggest concentration of activities was in the 178 Fairtrade towns, islands, boroughs and cities, 20 of which declared their newly-acquired Fairtrade status during Fortnight. Networks of supporters, local councillors, schoolchildren, retailers and faith groups united together to make Fairtrade their habit.

A celebrity photo exhibition at the.gallery@oxo, London, also entitled Make Fairtrade Your Habit, showed high profile celebrities coming together to reveal their Fairtrade shopping habits as they had fun with a wide range of Fairtrade products in a series of photographs by Trevor Leighton.

1. All figures for retail values are estimates, calculated from reported wholesale values.
2. The TNS Omnimas study for the Fairtrade Foundation is based on face-to-face interviews conducted between January 27-31, 2006, with a nationally representative sample of 2,131 adults aged 16+ across Great Britain.
3. The exhibition of photos by Trevor Leighton includes portraits of Donna Air, George Alagiah, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Amanda Burton, Oz Clarke, Fearne Cotton, Charlie Dimmock, Adrian Edmondson, Emilia Fox, Lenny Henry, Harry Hill, Jemma Kidd, Nick Knowles, Gail Porter, Anita Roddick, Starsailor, Jon Snow, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Richard Wilson and Vic Reeves, all with different Fairtrade products. The exhibition will show at the.gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, London SE1, March 8-26 2006. The exhibition is sponsored by the Co-operative Bank and Co-operative Insurance Services (CIS).
4. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. This independent consumer label appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than five million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards. Fairtrade Fortnight is the annual two weeks of campaigning and awareness building about Fairtrade.
5. 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.
6. Fairtrade Fortnight is promoted by networks around the country including development agencies CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, SCIAF, Tearfund, Traidcraft Exchange and the World Development Movement, as well as other organisations: Shared Interest, Banana Link, People & Planet, the Mothers’ Union, The National Federation of Women’s Institutes, the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, and the UNISON and PCS trade unions.
7. The five goals to achieve Fairtrade Town/City status are: local council passes a resolution supporting Fairtrade, and agrees to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea in its meetings, offices and canteens; a range of Fairtrade products are readily available in the area’s shops; Fairtrade products are served in local cafés/catering establishments; Fairtrade products are used by a number of local work places (estate agents, hairdressers etc) and community organisations (churches, schools etc); a local Fairtrade steering group is convened to ensure continued commitment to its Fairtrade Town status.
8. During Fairtrade Fortnight 2005 an estimated 7,500 events took place all over the country – from Fairtrade parades, concerts and debates to tea dances, fiestas and family days.
   

For further information, phone 020 7440 7686/7695 or mobile 07770 957 451 or email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk.

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