The history of Fairtrade

Before Fairtrade, when the prices of items now covered under the Fairtrade Mark dropped, the lives of farmers producing these items in developing countries were affected catastrophically.

Over the last forty years the cost to produce items such as coffee, tea and chocolate has increased dramatically.  However, the cost paid to farmers for their items has not increase with many farmers paying out more money than they were making to keep their business going.  Many producers lost their land, their business and ultimately their livelihood largely because of the unfair prices being paid by richer countries for the produce. 

Today, Fairtrade is a growing movement, with many countries including the UK signed up to Fairtrade, thanks to development organisations recognising the important role consumers could play to improve the situation for producers

Further information

For more information about the Fairtrade visit the Fairtrade website.