Fairtrade Fortnight 2021
Fairtrade Fortnight 2021
What is Fairtrade?
For two weeks each year at the end of February and start of March, thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK come together to share the stories of the people who grow our food and drinks, mine our gold and who grow the cotton in our clothes, people who are often exploited and underpaid, in essence forming a partnership to keep continuing to improve fair trade.
With the emergence of the global COVID pandemic, the challenges that farmers face now are bigger than ever before with falling commodity prices and widespread shocks reverberating along our global supply chains. Ongoing poverty in farming communities makes it increasingly hard to cope with the effects of climate change.
Items that bear the Fairtrade logo are Fairtrade certified, meaning that the price of the item covers both the cost of production and a fair living wage for the workers to cover basics such as food, shelter, clothing, education and medical care.
The Fairtrade logo also represents a commitment to environmental sustainability, empowerment of small-scale producers and fair and safe working conditions.
In 2019 and 2020 Waitrose & John Lewis converted their confectionery range to contain 100 percent Fairtrade cocoa and Lidl have launched their first own brand Fairtrade chocolate bar.
Ben & Jerry’s committed to paying a higher price to their cocoa farmers. The extra money that farmers receive is an important part of Ben & Jerry’s wider efforts to support farmers towards closing the living income gap.
The Co-op was the first supermarket to sell Fairtrade products in their stored back in 1998.
Both Ipswich and Colchester have Fairtrade status. Ipswich was awarded Fairtrade status in 2008 in recognition of the strong support for Fairtrade within the town, and the achievement of the five qualifying goals, such as availability of Fairtrade products in local shops and catering outlets, high levels of support from local people, businesses, the council, faith groups and schools. Colchester was awarded Fairtrade status in 2006.
When shopping look out for the Fairtrade logo and be part of a community that helps those in need.
