Fair Trade Fortnight (1st – 16th May 2010)

About Fairtrade 

•Fairtrade Certification is a unique and independent system helping developing country farmers and producers get a better deal and the opportunity to create a brighter future for their families and communities. 

•Today, more than five million people – farmers, producers, workers and their families – across 58 developing countries benefit from the Fairtrade system. 

•Fairtrade is the only third party certification system providing farmers and producers in developing countries with a designated fair price (the Fairtrade Price) for their produce, helping protect them from damaging fluctuations in world market prices. 

•Fairtrade is also the only system which provides these farmers and producers with an additional sum of money (the Fairtrade Premium) for investment in social, economic and environmental development - helping them grow their businesses and invest in their communities by building roads, schools and hospitals. 

•A product is Fairtrade Certified™ if it carries the Fairtrade Label – an easy way for consumers to recognise and choose products that have met internationally agreed Fairtrade Standards. 

•Retail sales of Fairtrade Certified™ and Labelled products in Australia and New Zealand grew by over 50% in 2009 to just over $NZ88 million, and in the last six years, since the first Fairtrade products went on sale in both countries, cumulative retail sales figures have surpassed NZ$150 million. 

Why is fair trade important? 

Poverty is widespread amongst tea, coffee and cocoa growers around the world, who face an uncertain future due to unstable world prices. In recent years, volatile prices worldwide have left many disadvantaged producers struggling to support themselves and their families.