Fairtrade Fortnight 2013

Fairtrade Fortnight (25 February – 10 March) will call on the British public to Go Further for Fairtrade in

2013 to look after the food we love and the people who grow it. Without our support now, farmers in

developing countries face a difficult and uncertain future.

The two-week long campaign will highlight the need to think about where our food comes from, and through

an interactive petition will call on the government to take action before the 2013 G8 Summit. The petition

will signal the start of a three-year long campaign by Fairtrade Foundation – ‘Make Food Fair’.

Smallholders in developing countries are increasingly hit by fluctuating commodity prices affecting their

income and the prices they pay for the food they buy themselves, rising global food prices, rising production

costs, and climate change.

Fairtrade Fortnight is the nationwide effort to promote awareness of Fairtrade and urge people to buy

products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark. It unites all Fairtrade supporters, bringing together retailers,

manufacturers, producers and consumers.

This year thousands of people up and down the country will get creative with their Fairtrade campaigning to

highlight the importance of small holder farmers in agriculture and their role in food security. Fabulous

sculptures made from Fairtrade product packaging will form the centrepiece of this year’s local campaign -

towns, villages, churches, colleges and schools across the nation have already begun creating installations,

collages and even tea cosies as protest petitions to deliver to MPs and commercial organisations to ask for

change. Their creativity will be uploaded to fairtrade.org.uk/gofurther to form a visual online petition.

Michael Gidney, chief executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, says: ‘Companies and governments need to

make a stand to ensure small farmers can achieve sustainable livelihoods and play their full role in building

fairer, better food systems for the future. Choosing Fairtrade is one way to help secure a better deal for

millions of people in developing countries, so we want people to try a new Fairtrade product or create a

work of art to ask for change. From the 25 February, they will also be able to pledge their support in a new,

exciting way, so watch this space.’

Farmers and co-operative members from Malawi, Costa Rica, Uganda and St Lucia will visit various

locations around the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight, giving talks and hosting discussions on what Fairtrade

means to their livelihoods, and the need to Go Further.

Businesses are also doing their bit to go further this Fairtrade Fortnight, from pop-up Fairtrade shops to

new Fairtrade certified products. From Fairtrade Fortnight 2013, every single KIT KAT 2 Finger sold in the

UK will be Fairtrade certified, while Divine Chocolate will be opening the doors to its first ever POP UP

shop. The organic and Fairtrade chocolate company will also be unveiling two brand new flavours – Divine

Dark 70% Chocolate with Chilli & Orange, and Milk Chocolate with Toffee & Salt. Tate & Lyle have unveiled

their new Golden Syrup Fairtrade cane sugar, while Liberation is going further by supporting a new peanut

processing plant in Malawi.

Visit www.fairtrade.org.uk/gofurther for more on Fairtrade Fortnight.

The Fairtrade system currently works with 1.24 million people - farmers and workers - across more than 66 developing countries

In the UK, sales of Fairtrade products in 2011 reached £1.32 billion – a 12 per cent increase on the previous year

Fairtrade products are now sold in more than 120 countries

75 per cent of all Fairtrade producers are smallholder farmers

78 per cent of consumers recognise the FAIRTRADE Mark

Last year, farmers and workers from some of the world’s poorest countries invested €65 million in Fairtrade Premium in business, social and environmental projects in their communities

There are now 991 Fairtrade producer organisations worldwide

More than 6.5 million litres of Fairtrade wine was enjoyed in 2011

One in every three bananas sold in the UK is Fairtrade

Fairtrade accounts for 10 per cent of all tea sold in the UK

Just over 8 per cent of all roast and ground retail coffee is Fairtrade certified

9,924 tonnes of Fairtrade hot chocolate was drunk in the UK in 2011 – that’s about 1.5 million of us sitting down to a cup of hot chocolate every day

Chichester Cathedral became the world’s first public building to display Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold in 2011. A 3ft cockerel was gilded in Fairtrade certified gold and positioned atop the 270ft Cathedral spire