The UK Fairtrade movement has called on local industry leaders and businesses to strengthen their involvement with the campaign to help tackle poverty in developing countries.
The announcement was made at the UK Fairtrade Foundation’s the annual Commercial Conference held in London on Tuesday, where UK Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander urged businesses to take the Fairtrade concept to the next level.
“We congratulate all who have helped put Fairtrade on the shelf, and call upon the business community to take Fairtrade to the next level, making it more mainstream still,” he told delegates.
“The retail industry can open doors to more farmers in developing countries and play their part towards the Millennium Development Goals by enabling shoppers to support Fairtrade every day.”
During the event, the UK Fairtrade Foundation announced that sales of Fairtrade-branded products in the UK rose by 55 per cent to £176m (€221m) for the period April to June 2008.
And, according to TNS data, UK market penetration for Fairtrade-certified goods has risen from 61 per cent to 70 per cent in the last year, rising from 15.2m households to some 17.5 households.
“This continuing uplift in sales is great news and shows the public is still taking Fairtrade to heart,” said Harriet Lamb, the foundation’s executive director.
UK supermarket group Sainsbury’s claims that sales of Fairtrade bananas, one of the top three items sold each week, have risen by 6 per cent, whileoOne of the UK’s leading Fairtrade retailers, The Co-operative, has reported a 34 per cent grow in sales of Fairtrade-certified products during the last year
The dates for UK promotional campaign Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 were also announced during the conference.
The so-called ‘Make it Happen – Choose Fairtrade’ drive will take place from 23 February to 8 March 2009.
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