All our actions to help you Think About What You Eat and Drink. Colour in a smiley face every time you've done an action.

All our actions to help you Think Globally. Colour in a smiley face every time you've done an action.

• Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.
• The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on UK products as a guarantee that they have been certified against internationally agreed Fairtrade standards.  It shares internationally recognised Fairtrade standards with initiatives in 20 other countries, working together globally with producer networks as Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). The Mark indicates that the product has been certified to give a better deal to the producers involved - it does not act as an endorsement of an entire company's business practices.
• The Fairtrade Foundation has licensed over 3,000 Fairtrade certified products for sale through retail and catering outlets in the UK.
• The UK market is doubling in value every 2 years, and in 2007 reached an estimated retail value of £493 million. The UK is one of the world's leading Fairtrade markets, with more products and more awareness of Fairtrade than anywhere else. Around 20% of roast and ground coffee, and 20% of bananas sold in the UK are now Fairtrade.
• The following products can be Fairtrade certified: Bananas, cocoa, coffee, dried fruit, fresh fruit & fresh vegetables, honey, juices, nuts/oil, seeds/oil, quinoa, rice, spices, sugar, tea, wine, beauty products, cotton, cut flowers, ornamental plants and sports balls
• Jose, a fair trade banana producer in the Dominican Repuplic can now earn the sustainable price of $6.00 a box- currently a dollar more than the conventional market price - a big difference if you are selling over 100 boxes. Each box contain about 100 bananas
• Globally, consumers worldwide spent £1.6bn on Fairtrade certified products in 2007. This is a 47% increase on the previous year directly benefiting over 7 million people- farmers, workers and their families in 58 developing countries.
• Fairtrade Fortnight is 22 February - 7 March 2010.
• One example of a fair trade tea farm is the Small Organic Farmer Association in Sri Lanka. Farmers receive about 12Rps/kg - roughly 15pence - more than farms selling to non-faitrade organisations.  (Rs29/kg compared to Rs17-20kg)
• Decent, stable incomes are extremely important in areas such as Sri Lanka where less than 10% of local people have permanent, full-time jobs. Most are involved in temporary work on short-term contracts of a week or 10 days or earn what they can in the informal sector. Local unemployment is around 30% and the situation is particularly bad for young people.
• Fairtrade products also invest in a wide range of projects that strengthen the capacity of the producers, improve incomes and bring social benefits to members' families and the wider community. Projects funded by Fairtrade include: purchasing of livestock and building materials for farmers; investing in organic awareness raising programmes; training farmers on drainage systems, plant health and protection from disease etc; giving computer training courses; building basic collection centres where tea and spices can be kept clean and dry; establishing a small loans fund; making one-off donations to poorer members struggling with specific problems such as healthcare or older people who can't afford housing costs; setting up women's programmes such as making reed baskets as packaging for 'up-market' tea exports; construction and repair of small lanes around the farms to make transport easier; funding programmes to help parents keep children in school.