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Chocolate lovers have every reason to get eggs-tra egg-cited as Easter approaches. And the good news this year is that the ever increasing range of Fairtrade Easter eggs on offer means that there really is something for everyone.

Giving someone the gift of a Fairtrade Easter egg turns a special occasion into an extra special one as recipients can indulge themselves and help producers in developing countries at the same time.
New products this year range from speckled milk chocolate mini eggs to full sized Belgian chocolate eggs plus a range of other flavours and choices in between.

Last year Fairtrade chocolate sales reached £92m, an increase in value of 140% on the previous year.

Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation said: ‘Everyone deserves a little treat now and then – and Easter is the perfect time to indulge. Increased sales means an increased Fairtrade premium for farmers to spend on community development and help them to continue to invest sustainably in their future despite the tough economic times many still face.’

‘It’s never been easier to show your support for a fairer way to do business. You can make the global economy fairer, greener and more sustainable this Easter simply by choosing eggs and other chocolates that carry the FAIRTRADE Mark this Easter - and then carry on the habit into summer.’

Comfort Kwaasibea, a cocoa farmer from Kuapa Kokoo co-operative in Ghana, said: "We have taken our destiny into our own hands. Through Fairtrade and Kuapa 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 when the cocoa is weighted. We meet every two weeks to share our problems. We are able to generate extra income through our soap making and palm oil making schemes that help us through the lean months. Kuapa Credit Union gives us loans and enables us all to benefit.’

Egg-citing treats this year include:

Divine Chocolate
Fairtrade company Divine Chocolate, owned by Kuapa Kokoo farmers, has several new additions to its Easter range, ensuring delicious chocolate treats for all the family. Divine is launching a cute trio of smaller Easter Eggs: 55g milk, dark and white chocolate eggs made with Divine’s pure cocoa beans and cocoa butter. Perfect if you want a smaller Easter treat, these new eggs are available from Waitrose and Oxfam stores at an RRP of £3.00 and online.

Divine’s 90g Milk Chocolate Egg is made with smooth, natural, milk chocolate and comes with the added treat of Divine milk chocolate mini-eggs (60g), foil wrapped and decorated with Ghanaian Adinkra symbols. The Milk Chocolate Egg is available from Waitrose, Booths and Oxfam stores at £5.00. Divine has joined forces with Penguin Classics this Easter to celebrate all that’s Divine and chocolatey in classic literature. Buy the Milk or Dark Chocolate Egg or the Dubble Egg and be in with a chance of winning Penguin Classics books and a year’s supply of chocolate.

The Dark Chocolate Egg is a wonderfully rich dark chocolate lover’s dream. Inside the box you will find a 90g dark chocolate egg made with 70% cocoa solids. As an added treat there are brazil nuts enrobed in the same smooth, critically acclaimed dark chocolate (50g). The brazil nuts, harvested from the floor of the Amazon rainforest in Peru, are also Fairtrade certified. The Dark Chocolate Egg is available from Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Booths and Oxfam stores at an RRP of £5.00.

The distinctive Divine Handbag (100g) has been redesigned this year in a chic pale blue livery, and holds a little batch of mini eggs made with solid milk chocolate. It’s a lovely gift for anyone with a passion for fashion and chocolate, RRP £3.00, available from Booths and Oxfam stores nationwide.

Last year’s bestseller, the Milk Chocolate Easter Egg with 6 Hand Finished Milk Chocolate Marc de Champagne Truffles, is back with limited availability from Oxfam shops nationwide (RRP £10).

Children will also adore Divine’s bags of Mini Eggs which are a must for Easter egg hunts and treats for Easter bunnies. Available in 200g bags in milk or dark chocolate from Waitrose and Oxfam stores at an RRP of £3.50.

Dubble
Divine’s sister brand Dubble, which comes with extra Comic Relief, has two special Easter products, designed just for children . Dubble’s Speckled Eggs contain solid milk chocolate and are sugar coated. These are available from Oxfam shops, RRP £1.49 (95g). The Dubble Easter Egg contains a milk chocolate hollow egg and a tasty Dubble bar (a crunchy milk chocolate bar made with caramel and crisped rice). They are available from Booths supermarkets and Oxfam shops, RRP £3.50 (110g).

Traidcraft
Traidcraft is offering a super cute range of eggs and gifts, including a Sheep Mug with Mini Eggs –(£8.50), a Spring Chicks Gingham Bag with Milk Chocolate Chicks – 60422 - £10 and a Spotty Ceramic Chicken with Chocolate Mini Eggs (£10).

The Co-operative
This year the Co-operative is offering reduced packaging on its Fairtrade Easter Eggs. 

The two best-selling luxuriously thick Fairtrade eggs - one milk and one dark chocolate - come with rich and delicious Fairtrade truffles and were a firm favourite with ethically-minded customers last year. This year, customers can enjoy exactly the same amount of mouth-watering Fairtrade chocolate in beautifully compact packaging which has been reduced by 28%. The packaging for the 270g Fairtrade spring-design boxed chocolates has also been reduced by 17%. This move represents a total packaging saving of 5.13 tonnes.

The large eggs are both made from premium Fairtrade chocolate. The milk chocolate egg is complemented by indulgent mocha truffles, salted caramel truffles and dark chocolate raspberry truffles. The dark chocolate egg - which is made from 72 % cocoa solids - comes with Gianduja praline truffles made with ground hazelnuts and delectable dark chocolate orange and exotic spices.

As well as the Fairtrade eggs, The Co-operative is stocking its fabulous and very popular Fairtrade chocolate bunny for the second year. The cute hollow bunny comes in a special gift box making it the perfect Easter pressie for that special someone. 

For a touch of luxury this Easter, the Fairtrade chocolate range also includes The Co-operative’s delicious Fairtrade Marc de Champagne Truffles, made with 65% Fairtrade ingredients and finished with a dusting of icing sugar. 

Chocaid
Try Chocaid’s Fairtrade Organic Milk Chocolate Globe (190g) this Easter. The chocolate globe is available to purchase online at www.chocaid.com, at £5.99.

Thorntons
This Easter Thorntons are offering consumers an Organic and Fairtrade Egg (150g) for £6.50. This delicious treat can be bought at www.thorntons.co.uk.

Green & Black’s
Green and Black’s Maya Gold Easter egg (180g) at £4.99 is an intensely refreshing twist of orange, balanced out by the warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg and a hint of vanilla in luxurious dark chocolate in an extra thick indulgent shell.

All Green & Black’s eggs are free from plastic inserts and use materials from sustainable sources. For more information: www.greenandbeautiful.com.

Waitrose
Waitrose is offering four varieties of Fairtrade chocolate eggs this Easter, which will make Easter extra pleasant.

Waitrose Fairtrade Belgian Chocolate (250g) - £12.99
Waitrose Fairtrade Milk Chocolate Egg (250g) - £12.99
Waitrose Fairtrade White Chocolate Egg (250g) - £12.99
Waitrose Fairtrade Dark Chocolate Egg (250g) - £12.99

For more information on Waitrose Fairtrade products, visit View a range of Fairtrade treats this Easter

My World
My World Chocolate this Easter comes with a variety of Fairtrade chocolate and to make the world sweeter, the company is offering a free children’s book. Why not try:

Pirate Easter Egg with Chocolate Pirate Lolly £5.95
Fairy Easter Egg with Chocolate Fairy Lolly £5.95
Box of Fairy Chocolate Buttons £1.75
Box of Pirate Chocolate Buttons £1.75

All products are Fairtrade and Organic and are available to purchase in Waitrose. Also available in Farm & Gift Shops around Norfolk and Nottinghamshire.

Each product has a web address on the box, directing you to the website, where you can download the free children’s story book. For more information about the products and its origin, visit the site at www.myworldchocolate.co.uk.

View a range of Fairtrade treats this Easter

Eileen Maybin
Head of Media Relations
020 7440 7686/07770 957 451
eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk

Martine Julseth
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 7695/07825 827 791
martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk

Faith Mall
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 8597/07766 504 947
faith.mall@fairtrade.org.uk

Neil Martin
Assistant Press Officer
020 7440 7620/07770 957 451
paul.may@fairtrade.org.uk


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 72% 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 58 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, olive oil, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys and cotton wool.

3. 7 in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated £800m in 2009, up from £712m in 2008. There are over 460 producer organisations selling to the UK with 872 certified producer groups in the global Fairtrade system, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.