Fantastic Fairtrade Facts
| Published: 5th March 2008 13:59 |
For details of cafes and shops in Hitchin selling Fairtrade products see the AboutMyArea SG4 & SG5 Buying Fairtrade in Hitchin article or contact the Secretary of the Hitchin Fairtrade Steering Group Trudy Hankin at tmhankin@btinternet.com.
- Flying off the shelves: we spent nearly half a billion (£493m) on products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark in the UK in 2007
- Fair cuppa: every day the British public drink more than 8 million Fairtrade hot drinks and this figure will jump. The Co-op are switching all their hot beverages to Fairtrade and Sainsbury entire range of tea, roast and ground coffee, and hot chocolate are all Fairtrade, including it's best-selling and oldest brand 'Red Label' tea.
- Go bananas: 1 in every 4 bananas sold in UK supermarkets is now Fairtrade with sales topping £150 m in 2007.
- Sweet success: Tate & Lyle are switching all their own label retail sugar to Fairtrade sugar. The move will benefit more than 6,000 farmers from Belize, who will receive Fairtrade premiums of around US $4 million (£2 million) for investment in their community, in the first year alone.
- Pick & choose: the first three Fairtrade products appeared on shop shelves in 1994, now more than 3,000 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark.
- A fairer future: more than 7 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America benefit from Fairtrade - farmers, farm workers, and their families.
- Cotton on: The number of people buying Fairtrade cotton is on the rise. Fairtrade cotton sales rose a whopping 660% in 2007, with sales reaching the £35m mark. Look out for Fairtrade cotton on the high street, including a new menswear range from Debenhams and clothes and/or homewear ranges in Marks & Spencer, Topshop, Monsoon, Next, House of Fraser, Tesco, the Co-op, and Sainsbury's.
- A touch of romance: Fairtrade bouquets delivered to the door are great news for rose growers in Kenya and romantic hearts here at home - available online from John Lewis, Interflora, Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco.
- Fairtrade fans: three out of five people in the UK now recognise the FAIRTRADE Mark (TNS Omnimas 2007). Nine out of ten people have heard of Fairtrade and 65% percent of people in the UK think Fairtrade products should be available in cafés and restaurants as well as shops (OC&C 2007).
- Spread the word: with Fairtrade peanut butter from Equal Exchange or one of Marks & Spencer's jams and marmalades. Thanks to these products, peanut growers in Mozambique are no longer being paid peanuts.
- Changing lives: the Fairtrade premium, an additional sum for community development, is used by farmers' groups to build schools, provide clean drinking water, pay for sickness benefit and pilot organic conversion schemes to help farmers work for the future.
- Bag it: say no to plastic and choose Fairtrade - Fairtrade cotton shopping bags are available from Co-op, Tesco, Monsoon, Accessorize, People Tree, Oxfam, and Bishopston Trading.
- Going eco nuts: new Fairtrade nuts from Liberation are being sold at supermarkets, Oxfam shops and independent stores around the UK. This means nut gatherers can make a living from nuts instead of being compelled to exploit precious timber from the Amazon rainforest.
- Naughty & nice:feel fabulous in Fairtrade cotton undies from Green Knickers, Gossypium, People Tree, Pants to Poverty and more.
- On the move: Fairtrade has never been an easier choice for commuters, with Virgin Trains and planes, Ryan Air, Midland Mainline, and cafes and restaurants in stations and airports across the UK, like AMT Coffee, serving Fairtrade drinks and snacks.
- A touch of luxury: shop at the top with the new Harrods range of Fairtrade, organic teas, Fortnum & Mason's Fairtrade single origin coffees, and Fairtrade, organic cotton designer jeans from Harvey Nichols.
- Keeping it local: there are now more than 320 Fairtrade Towns across the UK, which alongside 4,000 Fairtrade Churches, 37 Fairtrade Synagogues, 60 Fairtrade Universities and a newly launched network of Fairtrade Schools, are all campaigning to support and promote Fairtrade in their local area.
- Raise a glass: More us are drinking Fairtrade certified alcohol than ever before. More than 100 Fairtrade wines are now available, as well as beers and ale. Churchgoers can sing the praises of new Poterian Fairtrade Communion Wine too!
For further information about Fairtrade visit the Fairtrade Foundation website.
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