More than 1.2 billion people across the globe live on less than a dollar a day and more than half the world's population lives on less than two dollars per day.
Many people are aware that when it comes to wealth this is unequally distributed and that products in developing countries are often sold at prices that do not provide the producers a decent standard of living.
As shoppers and as consumers of goods we make choices. Martin Luther King reminded each one of us by saying:
"that before you finish eating your breakfast this morning, you've depended on half the world. This is the way our universe is structured… we aren't going to have peace on earth until we recognise this basic fact."
We rely on producers from around the world who grow or produce what we want. They rely on us to pay a price that provides them a decent living for their work. For many people in developing countries, selling basic commodities such as tea, coffee and sugar is their main livelihood. Swift and extreme price changes and trade barriers that make the producers vulnerable can affect such products.
Fairtrade is a familiar term now but just 20 years ago it didn't mean much to most people. Now it is a global movement growing in strength and popularity.
Fairtrade is what it says it is and means exactly what it says on the label. It guarantees a better deal for producers in the developing world.
Products which carry the Fairtrade Mark guarantee
- Farmers get a fair and stable price for their products;
- Farmers and plantation workers have the opportunity to improve their lives;
- Greater respect for the environment;
- A closer link between shoppers and producers is made;
- Small farmers gain a stronger position in world markets.
This simple guarantee has caught the imagination of UK consumers and awareness and sales of Fairtrade are soaring. Over the past year the total sales of Fairtrade products topped £195 million. The list of Fairtrade products is growing, there are now more than 1,500 products.
You can get a list of products by logging on to www.fairtrade.org.uk (opens in a new window). Ranging from tea, coffee, sugar and chocolate to footballs, products are available throughout a range of shops restaurants and cafes nationally and in the Ipswich area.
Five million small farmers and their families, and workers in developing countries, benefit from Fairtrade. Getting a fair and stable price for their crops or labour, which covers the cost of production, along with a premium that their organisation is able then to re-invest either in business or social and environmental schemes among the wider community. It also means that they earn enough to feed, clothe and house their families and send their kids to school.