Make Fairtrade Your Habit

Fairtrade Fortnight (6-19 March 2006)

• Sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark are now running at a rate of £200m a year
• Sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark grew by 40% to £195m in 2005
• Over 1,500 Fairtrade products are now available – an 80% increase from 850 in 2005 – and 40% of shoppers have bought Fairtrade products
• 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
• 20 celebrities reveal their Fairtrade habits in an exhibition of Trevor Leighton’s photos: Harry Hill, Amanda Burton and Vic Reeves at the.gallery@oxo March 8-26 (see notes)
• Companies are making major announcements about furthering their commitment to Fairtrade, including Marks & Spencer – which in a groundbreaking move is switching all its tea and coffee to Fairtrade certified – Virgin Trains and Sainsbury’s. Other major retailers such as the Co-op, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose are also undertaking significant activity.
  

New research reveals that, while the concept of Fairtrade continues to grow in popularity with the UK public, products must become more visible in shops and cafes for Fairtrade to influence people’s often entrenched shopping habits. The research was carried out to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight (6-19 March), the annual campaign of the Fairtrade Foundation.

A TNS Omnimas study carried out for the Fairtrade Foundation shows that the UK public tends to stick to old habits when they shop and go for well known brands. Despite huge increases in Fairtrade sales, the most common reason given for not purchasing more products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark is that they are simply not visible enough when out shopping. Over one third (36%) of those asked who knew about Fairtrade cited this as the biggest barrier to increasing Fairtrade purchase, whilst one in five (20%) admitted that they were simply not yet ‘in the habit’ of buying them. Only 3% of those who recognised the FAIRTRADE Mark said they were not buying more Fairtrade products because they disagreed or were not convinced by the idea of Fairtrade.

This is why the theme of this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight (March 6-19) is Make Fairtrade Your Habit. The aim is 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 is also to persuade consumers who have purchased products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark to buy a more varied selection from the wide range of products. The intention is also to explain to those who have not bought Fairtrade products why they should adopt the Fairtrade habit.

“So many people in the UK are won over by the idea of Fairtrade and want to shop with respect. Our challenge now is to make it easy to get the Fairtrade habit and switch to buying Fairtrade certified goods,” says Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, who was awarded a CBE in the 2006 Queen’s Honours List for her work in building Fairtrade in the UK.

The figures show that when it comes to shopping we are an unadventurous nation with less than one in five of the whole sample saying they like to try new brands or products. Only 11% admit to spontaneous purchasing – buying things just because they see them on the shelf - and around one in four (26%) say they always buy well known brands.

Around 8,000 activities are expected to take place up and down the country 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 will be touring 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 – to take part in conferences, fairs and other events.

The biggest concentration of activities will be in the 150 Fairtrade Towns, where Fairtrade is bringing together networks of supporters from local councillors to schoolchildren, retailers to faith groups. More than 20 more cities, islands, boroughs and towns are expected to have achieved and announced Fairtrade Town status by the end of Fairtrade Fortnight.

“The thousands of Fairtrade Fortnight events bring Fairtrade alive because people can hear from the growers and workers themselves about the benefits of Fairtrade and taste-test products they have not tried before,” says Harriet Lamb. “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.”

The increase in the Fairtrade range and Fairtrade sales means that more producer groups are able to sell to the UK Fairtrade market. The number of producer groups has risen to 301, up from 197 last year, with a particularly welcome increase in the numbers of groups from Africa.

Silver Kasoro-Atwoki from the Mabale Growers Tea Factory Ltd in Uganda, who is touring the UK this Fairtrade Fortnight, explains 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 in 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.”

Silver, and Harriet Lamb, will both be speaking at the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight tonight at Sadler’s Wells in London. Other speakers include Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer and George Alagiah, broadcaster and journalist and patron of the Fairtrade Foundation.

Simultaneously the Fairtrade Foundation is announcing a 40% rise in sales of products which carry the FAIRTRADE Mark to £195m in 2005. Further increases in the first months of this year means that sales are now running at £200m, double the rate of £100m announced two years ago during Fairtrade Fortnight 2004. Over 1,500 products, catering and retail, are now available, up from 850 last year. And a celebrity photo exhibition at the.gallery@oxo, London SE1, also entitled Make Fairtrade Your Habit, shows high profile celebrities revealing their Fairtrade shopping habits as they have fun with a wide range of Fairtrade products in a series of photographs by Trevor Leighton.

“Fairtrade still has huge untapped potential. Fairtrade benefits farmers and workers in developing countries, offering a fair price, an additional premium, environmental benefits and more secure markets. We went to expand the Fairtrade market in the UK so that still more farmers, workers and their families can benefit,” explains Harriet Lamb.

To coincide with the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight, many of the UK’s major retailers and brands are helping increase visibility of Fairtrade and are announcing significant new developments.

• Marks & Spencer has become the first high street retailer to offer a range of own brand items made with Fairtrade certified cotton, including T-shirts and socks. They will be on sale in 36 flagship stores from Monday 6 March, and further product announcements by the company are expected during the Fortnight.
• Virgin Trains has announced that it is switching all tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar and chocolate sprinkles on board to Fairtrade, and will also be introducing Fairtrade into its executive lounges in several rail stations.
• Sainsbury’s switched 75% of their rose bouquets to Fairtrade in January 2006. New Fairtrade rosé and white wines from South Africa will go on sale, as will Plum Baby banana and mango puree - the first baby food to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark. Sainsbury’s in-store promotions include triple Nectar card points on FAIRTRADE Mark products.
• The Co-op is extending its range of wines with a new South Africa wine, Thandi Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2005 is also running further promotions on FAIRTRADE Mark products.
• Waitrose has launched Fairtrade loose bananas from the Caribbean to complement its Fairtrade bagged bananas – all of its Caribbean bananas are now Fairtrade certified. In another first, Fairtrade vanilla pods are also now available.
• Fairtrade certified nuts will be in UK supermarkets for the first time – brazil nuts at branches of Tesco and roasted, salted peanuts at the Co-op nationwide.
• Tesco is also running in-store tastings and a range of promotions on Fairtrade products.
• Fairtrade rose bouquets from Kenya are available on-line from John Lewis.
• Asda has the fastest growing supermarket sales of Fairtrade fresh produce. It is running special promotions on Fairtrade oranges, grapes and mangoes during March, and is also the only retailer to offer Fairtrade lychees – the first Fairtrade product from Mozambique.
• In-store promotions are also expected in Booths, Budgens, Spar, Somerfield and Morrisons and over 25,000 Fairtrade Fortnight posters have been distributed to independent and wholefood stores.
• Fairtrade footballs will go on sale at Oxfam shops across the UK.
• The 2006 official Sports Relief T-shirts will be made with Fairtrade certified cotton from West Africa – the T-shirts are being sold through Sainsbury’s from May.
  
  

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