Fairtrade Fortnight 23 February – 8 March 2009
Fairtrade Fortnight is the Fairtrade Foundation’s annual campaign call to people in the UK to promote awareness of Fairtrade and buy products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark. In 2009 it will take place from 23 February – 8 March and will be themed Make it happen. Choose Fairtrade.
Make it happen. Choose Fairtrade reflects the urgency of expanding Fairtrade to benefit more farmers and their dependents in the developing world. It is also aimed at galvanising campaigners, supporters and the general public to organise events for the Fortnight.
Harriet Lamb, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation says: ‘The Fairtrade Foundation’s message for Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 is that, while sales of Fairtrade products and awareness of Fairtrade has been growing apace in recent years, change is still not happening nearly quickly enough for the millions of the world’s poorest farmers who remain trapped in trade poverty. The challenge now is to urgently scale up the reach and impact of Fairtrade so that by working together, we can succeed in tipping the balance of trade in favour of marginalized farmers and producers. Fairtrade Fortnight is an opportunity for us do something too by holding events at work, at home or in the community.’
The Big Debate
This year’s activities will commence on the 19 February with a top-level conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, which will launch new Fairtrade Foundation research on the impact of the global food crisis for small-scale farmers.
The conference, entitled: The global food crisis and Fairtrade: Small farmers, Big solutions? is expected to attract around 200 delegates from leading businesses and NGOs around the world as well as a host of Fairtrade producers, MPs and embassy representatives.
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), the Minister of State for International Development Gareth Thomas MP, and other high-profile speakers. Following the conference, the Fortnight will also trigger a series of regional debates on trade, climate change and ethical shopping (Oxford 23 February, Cardiff 25 February, Birmingham 2 March, Edinburgh 4 March, Leeds 5 March), hosted by Fairtrade networks and organisations which support Fairtrade. Register for the regional debates at www.fairtrade.org.uk .
On your marks, get set, go Fairtrade!
Fairtrade Fortnight’s official public launch will be a sporty day of fun and games for all the family on London’s South Bank, near Gabriel’s Wharf on Sunday 22 February. Alongside many delicious Fairtrade product tasting opportunities, visitors will be able to hear directly from Fairtrade producer partners from around the world, make a Fairtrade smoothie under their own pedal power and compete in mini-hurdling and Fairtrade product weight lifting competitions to win a Fairtrade chocolate medal and stand on the Fairtrade champions’ podium. The Fairtrade Foundation chose the sporting theme to highlight its ambition to double the impact of Fairtrade globally by 2012, the year that London will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Celebrities from the world of sport are expected to attend.
Go Fairtrade bananas!
The two-week campaign will culminate in a 24-hour world record attempt for the number of people simultaneously eating a Fairtrade banana across the UK. The mass banana eating will take place between noon on Friday 6 and noon on Saturday 7 March, with hundreds of events expected to take place around the country during Fairtrade Fortnight. For example, Bolton Wanderers first team players will wear Fairtrade cotton T-shirts during the match warm up against Newcastle United on 1 March. A film on Fairtrade will be screened to supporters during half time and Fairtrade Fortnight will be featured in the match programme. On 2 March up to 2000 school children will simultaneously eat Fairtrade bananas at the Reebok stadium and a Fairtrade market will be opened by the Mayor of Bolton at the stadium that evening.
Companies are also planning to go bananas for the campaign. Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s will invite their customers to Go Fairtrade bananas! with a specially designed sticker placed onto all their bagged Fairtrade bananas. In addition the catering company Compass is been working hard to ensure they have sufficient Fairtrade bananas available in the schools, university and workplaces it supplies, and will also be running special events with both customers and staff. Many employers such as the Welcome Trust and KPMG are already planning events with their staff to support Go Fairtrade bananas. To help break the record, register online at www.fairtrade.org.uk .
Producer Tour
Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 will bring together producers, campaigners, retailers, licensees and NGOs around the country to highlight global inequality and promote Fairtrade, which benefits impoverished rural communities in the developing world. Through Fairtrade, 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – have more security and control over their lives. The Fairtrade Foundation is organizing a delegation of farmers from Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and St Lucia who will tour separate locations around the England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They will explain to schools, businesses and community groups about the potential of Fairtrade to make a difference to global poverty and with a view to inspiring people in their roles as both consumers and citizens.
The FAIRTRADE Mark is now recognised by 70% of people in the UK, and more than 4,500 food, drink and clothing items as well as other goods have now been certified Faitrade. The value of UK Fairtrade sales has grown more than tenfold since 2001, reaching nearly £500 million in 2007 and, more importantly still, in 2007 the real volumes (by weight or number) of produce more than doubled. This is great news for the producers whose Fairtrade premiums, the extra payment they receive from selling to the Fairtrade market, are based on these volumes. But we still have a long way to go to make trade fair. Two billion people – a third of humanity – work hard to support themselves yet still struggle to survive on $2 per day or less.
Hundreds of Fairtrade Towns, Churches and Schools around the UK will promote Fairtrade at a regional level. In 2008, over 10,000 activities and events took place during Fairtrade Fortnight, reflecting the diverse range of supporters across the country – everything from Fairtrade parades, concerts and debates to coffee mornings, fashion shows and family days.
To join and get a copy of the Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 Action Guide go to http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/resources/downloadable_resources.aspx
Click here for the gobananas site
Click here for the regional events calendar
Click here for the great trade debate
– ENDS –
Notes to Editors
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, confectionary, 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. The dates for Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 are 23 February to 8 March.