Fairtrade Fortnight

This is an ongoing campaign by SDLP youth. We have been involved in fair-trade for a long time and supported the work of Queens and Belfast city to become registered as fair-trade. We were also present at the Make Poverty History rallies.

The issues of making trade fair and fair-trade produce are always important. With the number and type of Fair-trade products available expanding all the time, it's easier to shop Fair-trade than ever before. But even though awareness and support for Fair-trade products is high, lots of people still don't have a Fair-trade habit.

In 2003 there were only about 150 products with the Fair-trade logo. Now there are over 1100. As well as the well-known categories such as coffee, chocolate and fresh fruit, you can buy Fair-trade flowers, footballs, shoes, wine and even T-shirts.

When you buy products with a Fair-trade logo, you get a guarantee that the farmer who grew your coffee or the worker who made your football got a fair price for their crop or a fair wage for their work. Plus they’ll have got a little extra to go into a community ‘pot’ to help their community’s long-term development.

Hundreds and thousands of people are benefiting like this through Fair-trade. However, the growth of Fair-trade products in itself isn’t enough to truly tackle poverty in developing countries. Millions more people could benefit if it wasn’t for the unjust trade rules that hamper poor countries’ attempts to trade their way out of poverty. Buying Fair-trade and campaigning for trade justice is the way forward.

> Download our Fairtrade Now poster (07 March 2006) (PDF file)