Co-op Food launches online Fairtrade platform

The Co-operative Food has launched an online platform that will allow shoppers to contact Fairtrade producers all over the world.

The website www.growingstories.coop is a place where UK consumers can interact with Fairtrade farmers and workers and learn first-hand about the impact Fairtrade has had on them and their communities.

The online conversation will include 17 producer organisations from nine different countries, the first time so many Fairtrade communities have been brought together.

The site includes sections like Ask the Producer, and a space where people can share photo galleries. You can also share a message of support for Fairtrade, which is added to the site’s ‘share wall’. For every message shared, Co-op Food will donate £1 to a producer fund for future projects. They hope to raise a total of £25,000.

Michael Gidney, Chief Executive of Fairtrade Foundation, said: “Trade started as a simple exchange between people, but increasingly complex global supply chains often mean that people feel a long way from the reality of life for those who grow what they buy, and farmers never meet those who buy what they grow.

“Globally, we’re seeing a growing interest among consumers in the ethics of supply chains, and desire to reconnect. This initiative makes trade personal again, and we hope it will generate many fruitful exchanges between people across the world.”