Fairtrade Fortnight 23 February – 8 March 2009
Make it Happen. Choose Fairtrade
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Producers in developing countries need Fairtrade more than ever
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Businesses urged to scale up their engagement during Fairtrade Fortnight
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Research shows that consumers are continuing to buy Fairtrade
Retailers, licensees and commercial companies are gearing up for Fairtrade Fortnight (23 February – 8 March 2009), which looks set to be bigger and better than ever before, with hundreds of in-store activities planned around the country.
The theme is Make it Happen. Choose Fairtrade. This urgent call is pertinent this year as the Fairtrade Foundation is one year into its ambitious five-year strategy, Tipping the Balance, which aims, by 2012, to enable twice as many producers to be benefiting from selling Fairtrade goods in the UK, while those already supplying the UK market should be able to double the proportion of the crop they sell through the Fairtrade system.
Fairtrade Fortnight presents companies with a unique opportunity to market Fairtrade and is the perfect time for companies to improve visibility at point-of-sale, or even consider extending their range of Fairtrade certified products.
There are now more than 4,500 FAIRTRADE Mark products certified, over a wide range of product categories. This is expected to include olive oil and cosmetics in the coming year as the Tipping the Balance strategy aims to increase sales four-fold by 2012, partly through the introduction of new product categories.
Bananas continue to be a best-selling Fairtrade product and one in four bananas sold in the UK are now Fairtrade. Fairtrade Fortnight will culminate with Fairtrade campaigners up and down the country attempting to set a world record for eating Fairtrade bananas between midday on 6 March and midday on 7 March. Independent shops and retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Co-operative will support the initiative by making supplies available and, in some cases, on-pack messaging.
The Fairtrade Foundation is encouraging companies to build on the successes of last year’s Fairtrade Fortnight, which saw several all-important conversions to Fairtrade.
Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer says: ‘Fairtrade enables companies to put value back into products and engage the public’s interest in attributes beyond price. By nurturing sustainable supply chains, businesses can not only secure long-term quality relationships with their suppliers, but are also respond to consumer demand which shows people want to buy products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark more regularly if that are available’.
Recent research by Feel 4 shows that despite feeling the pinch, 92% of consumers still claimed to be willing to pay extra for a product perceived to be ethical and, Fairtrade was shopper’s favoured type of ethical product. ‘In these difficult economic times consumers are making more considered choices and Fairtrade remains important to them which is good news for producers in developing countries who need Fairtrade now more than ever,’ said Harriet Lamb. People in developing countries, who typically spend over 50% of their income on food, are the most severely affected by rising global food costs. Many producers are also facing rising production costs as the price of fuel and other inputs soar.
Major commercial developments during 2008 include:
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Tate & Lyle’s retail cane sugar range will be entirely Fairtrade by 2010 and small-scale growers in the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers’ Association, will be the first to benefit from the Fairtrade premiums generated.
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Starbucks espresso-based coffees including its cappuccino, caffe latte and other espresso-based beverages will all be Fairtrade certified by the end of 2009. The 100% Fairtrade Certified Espresso in the UK and Ireland forms part of a global plan that will mean Starbucks will become the largest purchaser of Fairtrade certified coffee in the world, doubling its global purchases to 40 million pounds (volume) in 2009.
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The Co-operative switched its entire own brand hot beverage category – worth over £16 million annually – to Fairtrade, including its 99Tea.
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Sir Steve Redgrave launched a range of Fairtrade certified cotton menswear Five G in Debenhams and new Fairtrade certified cotton lines were launched in Top Shop and Top Man.
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Sainsbury’s switched 95% of their own label tea to Fairtrade. Over the next three years, their entire range of roast and ground coffee will move to Fairtrade.
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Harry Hill, a long term supporter of Fairtrade, launched his own range of Fairtrade salted peanuts and cashew nuts with 100% Fairtrade nut company Liberation.
The value of UK Fairtrade sales has grown more than tenfold since 2001, reaching nearly £500 million in 2007 and now helps more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – to have more security and control over their lives. New sales figures for 2008 will be announced during Fairtrade Fortnight and are expected to reflect key commercial developments and show significant growth in some categories.
Hundreds of Fairtrade Towns, Churches and Schools around the UK will promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and last year an estimated 12,000 separate activities and events took place. This year’s activities will include a top-level conference entitled: The global food crisis and Fairtrade: Small farmers, Big solutions? at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, aimed at developing a better understanding of the links between the food crisis, small-scale farmers and Fairtrade.
The conference will be chaired by George Alagiah, Patron of the Fairtrade Foundation, and will include presentations from Justin King, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s, and other high-profile speakers.
Fairtrade Fortnight’s official public launch will be an Olympic-themed event in central London on Sunday 22 February. Sports activities including a Fairtrade chocolate relay race, and giant inflatable banana jousting are planned. Celebrities, including Olympic medal winners, are expected to attend.
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Notes to Editor
1. 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. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label is now recognised by 70% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 59 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs & spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionery, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys & cotton wool.
3. 7 in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods, including an extra 2.3 million more households in the last year alone, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated half a billion pounds (approx £493m) in 2007, a 72% increase on the previous year. By the end of 2007 there were over 430 producer organisations selling to the UK and 632 certified producer groups globally, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.
4. Ethical Shopping Price Survey, June 2008, Chris Arnold.