Ben & Jerry's Big Swap

In a move sure to delight ethical ice cream lovers everywhere, the real Ben and Jerry of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream appeared in Leicester Square this morning (18 Feb) to announce that the whole global range of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will be Fairtrade from 2013. It’ll be a complex job, with 58 flavours and 121 swirls and pieces to convert, but will bring the FAIRTRADE Mark to a whole new audience. Jerry Greenfield said: 'Fairtrade is about making sure people get their fair share of the pie. The whole concept of Fairtrade goes to the heart of our values and sense of right and wrong. Nobody wants to buy something that was made by exploiting somebody else.'

Hazir Shah, elected as representative of the Ghazer Fairtrade Farmers in Pakistan who produce the almonds for Ben & Jerry’s says: 'Fairtrade has brought tremendous benefits to the communities not only for Fairtrade farmers but to others by increasing the prices for walnuts, almonds and other fruits to properly profitable levels for farmers.’

The event in Leicester Square is called 100 Fair Trades as Ben & Jerry’s launch an exclusive campaign at www. benjerry.co.uk/ inviting their fans to trade fairly with them in exchange for 100 prizes. Eight live trades were completed this morning by fans in the square, with the lucky traders winning some amazing prizes including a year’s supply of Divine Fairtrade chocolate, a luxury weekend stay in the UK’s first Fairtrade city, and a year’s supply of Café Direct Fairtrade coffee.