| Type | Charitable organization |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
| Key people | Harriet Lamb, Director |
| Website | www.fairtrade.org.uk |
The Fairtrade Foundation is a charity based in the United Kingdom that works to empower disadvantaged producers in developing countries by tackling injustice in conventional trade, in particular by promoting and licensing the Fairtrade Mark, a guarantee that products retailed in the UK have been produced in accordance with internationally agreed Fairtrade standards.[1] The Foundation the British member of FLO International, which unites 23 Fairtrade producer and labelling initiatives across Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.[1]
The organization, registered as a charity, exists to improve the position of poor and marginalised producers in the developing world, by encouraging industry and consumers in the United Kingdom to support fairer trade.[2]
The Foundation aims to achieve its goals by:
The Foundation was established in 1992 by CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam, Traidcraft and the World Development Movement. These organisations were later joined by the Women's Institute, Britain's largest women's organisation, and other organisations including Banana Link, Methodist Relief and Development Fund, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, People & Planet, SCIAF, Shared Interest Foundation, Soroptimist International , Tearfund and the United Reformed Church.[1]
The Fairtrade Foundation organizes and coordinates promotional campaigns and events every year, such as the Fairtrade fortnight (typically in February/March), the British counterpart of Max Havelaar France's Quinzaine du Commerce Équitable. The Foundation also coordinates the Fairtrade Town campaign, which designates areas and towns committed to the promotion of Fairtrade certified goods.
The Fairtrade Foundation commissions professional photographers to take images of farmers and workers that belong to Fairtrade certified producer groups. Some of the photographers the Foundation and FLO has worked with are Simon Rawles, Peter Caton, Eduardo Martino, Richard Human, Didier Gentilhomme and Anette Kay.[1]
Fairtrade certified products are widely available today in the United Kingdom, and in 2006, there were over 2000 Fairtrade product lines available in the country. Products carrying the Fairtrade label can be found at vendors like Asda, Budgens, Booths, Co-op, Londis, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Safeway, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Spar, Tesco, Waitrose as well as in hundreds of coffee shops, small retailers and online merchants.
In 2007, Fairtrade certified sales in the United Kingdom amounted to approximately £493 million, up from £273 million in 2006. Sales of their top selling product, bananas, were over 150 million pounds, an increase of 130 percent. In 2007, 25% of the bananas sold in the United Kingdom carried the Fairtrade label. Fairtrade sales of coffee in Britain, which had been their top selling product in 2006, rose 24 percent to 117 million pounds.[3]
It was estimated in 2008 that approximately 70% of British adults could identify the Fairtrade Certification Mark,[4] up from 25% in 2003, 39% in 2004, 50% in 2005 and 57% in 2007.[5] In 2008, an estimated two in three UK households regularly bought at least one Fairtrade-labelled product.[6]
The Fairtrade Foundation is a registered charity (no. 1043886). It is also a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (no. 2733136).[1]
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