Fairtrade makes it a merry Christmas – for everyone
Let Fairtrade make your Christmas truly festive this year. There are more than 4,000 Fairtrade certified products now available, so it’s easier than ever to spread joy at Christmas – giving you and your family a special time and giving hope to farming families in developing countries around the world.
- Start the countdown to Christmas with a Fairtrade chocolate advent calendar
- Get the party started with Fairtrade beers, wines and spirits – not to mention a wide range of fruit juices and other non alcoholic drinks
- Enjoy the vast array of tasty food made from Fairtrade ingredients, especially nuts, fruit and chocolate
- Buy a Fairtrade Christmas pudding or make your own pudding from Fairtrade ingredients
George Alagiah, Patron of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: ‘What could be better than receiving a present you will enjoy and has also brought benefits to the people who produced it? The choice of gorgeous gifts is bigger than ever this year, so give something from our Fairtrade Christmas wish list and bring happiness to everyone involved.’
Advent calendars: Children will love to count down the days to Christmas with a Fairtrade chocolate calendar from Divine Chocolate, the Fairtrade chocolate company part-owned by cocoa farmers.
Party time: The party season can be fully Fairtrade from the drinks to the delicious Fairtrade food. Among the Fairtrade wines on offer are Chilean Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Chilean Syrah, Pinot Grigio, Organic Malbec, Cape Chardonnay and Organic Sauvignon Torrontes. Spirits include Fairtrade White Rum. There are lots of beers including Co-op Bumble Bee Ale, Co-op Fairtrade Organic Ale and Wychwood Bee Wyched Honey’d Ale. A selection of soft drinks and fruit juices is available from most major supermarkets.
Festive food: For festive food, nuts are the traditional choice. M&S have Fairtrade InSkin Lightly Salted Peanuts, Fairtrade Roasted and Salted Cashews and Brazil Nuts. Sainsbury’s range includes Oven Roasted and Salted Mixed Nuts and Oven Roasted Nut Mix with Fruit. Tesco’s range includes Brazil Nuts and Cashew Nuts with Peanuts and Raisins.
Fairtrade fresh fruit includes apples, avocados, bananas, clementines, red and white grapes, lemons, lychees, mangoes, oranges, pears, pineapples, plums and satsumas, all available from most supermarkets.
Why not finish the evening with traditional figgy pudding using fruit and spices carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark, such as raisins, apricots, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon? Follow with Fairtrade Christmas coffees or teas, available from Marks & Spencer, Taylors of Harrogate and the Eve Coffee Company. If all that sounds like too much hard work, easy options include the Traidcraft Christmas Pudding, their fully iced Christmas Cake or Co-op Yule Log!
By using Fairtrade ingredients you can be assured your Christmas dinner is helping some of the poorest communities in the world, like the Mountain Fruits farmers in the Karakoram Mountains in Northern Pakistan, who produce Tropical Wholefood’s dried apricots. Fairtrade premiums have enabled farmers to pay for school fees, build a new school and a community centre, as well as improving the quality of their production. Sher Ghazi, Chief Executive of Mountain Fruits, says: ‘Getting a Fairtrade deal for apricot farmers in these remote valleys is a lifeline.’
Spread some Christmas joy with Fairtrade gifts. You could stuff a FAIRTRADE certified cotton sack or stocking with everything from chocolate to cotton tee shirts, jeans, flowers and footballs.
Santa sacks and stockings with fillers:
- Bishopston Trading sell a selection with plenty of festive cheer
- Add some sparkle with Divine Gold Coins
- Delight the kids with brand new Dubble milk chocolate Christmas puds
- Add a practical touch with Fairtrade cotton wool from Boots, Sainsbury’s and the Co-operative
For him:
- Dress him in a pair of chinos and a stylish shirt from Sir Steve Redgrave’s FiveG range at Debenhams or a smart shirt from Bishopston Trading
- Indulge him with Chocaid Irish Cream Flavoured Truffles in Fairtrade White Chocolate or an Oxfam Rum Truffles Gift Box
- Encourage him to get fit with a Fairtrade Football
- You never have enough socks – Fairtrade cotton ones, of course, from Marks & Spencer
For her:
- Spoil her with Chocolala hand-crafted Fairtrade chocolates or Divine Chocolate’s new hand-made Belgian chocolates in a stunning black and gold box
- The way to her heart is through her wardrobe – her Fairtrade wardrobe that is! She’ll love a pair of beautiful hand-crafted jeans from Sharkah Chakra. Dazzle her with People Tree’s Batwing Print Top or stick to the basics with cuddly undies from Gossypium or Green Knickers
- Some home pampering is in order with luxurious Fairtrade cotton towels and crisp Fairtrade cotton sheets from Christy, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis and Oxton Cotton.
For young ones:
- Choose from the cute Fairtrade cotton options for kids – Melting Hearts polar bear babygrow from HUG, Spotty baby hat from Piccalilly or long sleeve boys tee from People Tree.
This year, it’s easier than ever to create the perfect Christmas for you, your family and for farming families around the world.
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Notes to Editor
For more information please contact Eileen Maybin or Martine Julseth at the Fairtrade Foundation at eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk or call 020 7440 7695
Check some of the vast range of products on offer on the Fairtrade website at www.fairtrade.org.uk