Fairtrade Fortnight – 24 February – 9 March 2014

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world – and Fairtrade Fortnight is an...

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world – and Fairtrade Fortnight is an annual celebration and campaign organised by the Fairtrade Foundation to increase awareness of Fairtrade products.  Here we have collected some of the stories surrounding the fortnight, looking at unusual Fairtrade products, interviewing people involved in different aspects of the Foundation and discovering the part co-operatives play in Fairtrade. 

  • A day in the life of ... Mavis Adu Gyamfi

    What is your role? I am a cocoa farmer. As my fellow farmers in my village trust me, and see that I have been to college and learned accounting, they have elected me to be the recorder in our society. The recorder is the person who weighs the cocoa, checks the quality, and pays the farmers. How do you get started in the morning? When I wake up, it is about 4.30-5am. I sweep my house ...

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  • The Co-op's increase is impressive considering Aldi and Lidl are currently taking most of the gains from Co-op’s competitors

    British Fairtrade sales rise 14% to £1.7bn

    Sales of Fairtrade products in the UK have risen by 14% to £1.78bn. As Fairtrade Fortnight (24 February – 9 March) launches, the Fairtrade Foundation unveiled the statistics, which show estimated sales in 2013 reached £1.78 billion, a 14% increase on sales of £1.53 billion in 2012. Fairtrade sugar continued to rise with a 25% growth in volume, led partly by sales of the Tate & Lyle ...

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  • Supermarket price wars hit Fairtrade producers

    Britain’s supermarket price wars are affecting growers who receive the Fairtrade premium. Over the past 10 years, the price of bananas in the UK has halved, while the cost of production to the farmers has almost doubled. Supermarkets in the UK now buy and sell bananas so cheaply that many of the farmers and workers who grow them are being trapped in poverty. Research commissioned by the ...

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  • Scotmid and Chelmsford Star embrace Fairtrade Fortnight

    Scotmid and Chelmsford Star co-operatives are marking this year's Fairtrade Fortnight with a series of events designed to raise awareness about the importance of fair terms of trade. Scotmid is sponsoring a number of activities, including a Fairtrade banana bonanza in South Queensferry and a Fairtrade football tournament in Bonnyrigg. Staff members will give talks to local schools and ...

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  • The Fairtrade Carbon Credits aim to support those hit hardest by the effects of climate change

    Fairtrade celebrates over two decades of growing the developing world

    The Fairtrade movement is celebrating after hitting two major milestones in recent months. In November, Fairtrade International celebrated 25 years of the first type of ‘fair trade’ between a developing and developed country. A handful of Dutch pioneers launched a fair trade label, Max Havelaar, which sold coffee from Mexico in supermarkets across Netherlands. Following this, a number of ...

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  • From farm to fruit bowl - the journey of a Fairtrade banana

    From farm to fruit bowl ...

    The El Guabo producer co-operative has a role in every step of the journey of their bananas, from leaving the ground in rural Ecuador to hitting the supermarket shelves in the UK. GROWING Ecuador, on the north west coast of South America, is the biggest banana-producing country in the world, accounting for around 30% of the world’s bananas. While the majority are grown in large ...

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  • Footballs, flowers and vodka are just some of the more unusual Fairtrade products available

    Meet the more unusual Fairtrade products

    If you ask someone to name a Fairtrade product, the top two answers given are coffee and chocolate - but what other new and unusual Fairtrade items are out there? VODKA Created by Fair, a new company producing Fairtrade spirits, Fair Vodka is a classic drink with a twist – rather than being made from grains such as wheat or rye, it is distilled from quinoa. The fruit for the vodka is ...

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  • Revolver hopes its Fairtrade products will help change the coffee industry

    Music mogul’s journey from rock and roll to a Fairtrade revolution

    Music mogul Paul Birch earned his place in music history in 1979, when he founded indie label Revolver Records, which has more than 3,500 albums in its back catalogue and notched up a series of famous signings, including Manchester legends the Stone Roses.  Now, its co-operatively run sister company has a fast-growing range of Fairtrade coffee, clothing and other ethically-produced ...

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  • Michael Gidney (left) with Fairtrade banana producer Albeiro Alfonso Cantillo

    A day in the life of ... Michael Gidney

    Please describe your role I am responsible for ensuring the Fairtrade Foundation achieves its mission, which is to fight poverty through securing better terms of trade for farmers and workers in developing countries. This year marks the 20th birthday of the Fairtrade Mark. Over that time Fairtrade has grown into a vibrant movement for change, involving 1.3 million producers in 70 countries ...

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  • Meet a Fairtrade producer on tour across the UK

    Co-operative Group members can find out more about Fairtrade this week by meeting with producers. The member events are free and will provide an overview of how the Group is working with Fairtrade and how producers will talk about how the movement has made a difference for its communities. A free wine tasting session will also look at how wine is produced. Daniela Cedrón, who comes from a ...

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