Fairtrade pineapple

A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation has found that the attitude of UK consumers to Fairtrade products has not changed despite the impact of the global economic downturn last year.

Figures showed that Fairtrade product sales increased in value terms by 12 per cent in the UK last year, up to an estimated retail value of £799m (€908m), with 71 per cent of people interviewed in the study saying that they would be willing to swap one or more products to Fairtrade in the next two years.

This despite the fact that just over seven out of every ten people surveyed admitted that they had cut back on their personal budgets in some way as a result of the recession.

A loyalty to Fairtrade products was particularly welcome at this time, the Fairtrade Foundation said, because the global economic downturn had been felt worst in developing countries across the world.

'2009 was a tough year for everyone, but a desperate year for many poor communities and small farmers in developing countries,' said Harriet Lamb, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation. 'For millions of growers and their families and communities, Fairtrade was able to make the difference that has helped them survive a difficult year and plan for the future.'

Douglas Alexander, international development secretary at the Foundation, said that it was in many cases thanks to Fairtrade that farmers and producers in many of the world's poorest countries had been able to feed their families and keep children in education.

'The label's success on the high street is testament to UK shoppers' desire to make a difference through their everyday purchases,' he added. 'I'm delighted that the government's recent promise of £12m (€13.6m) for Fairtrade will help increase the amount of products on our supermarket shelves, and support thousands of extra families in the years ahead.'

Fairtrade Fortnight, which runs from 22 February to 7 March, is running under the theme of 'The Big Swap', encouraging people across the UK to swap everyday shopping basket items including pineapples and bananas for Fairtrade ones.

'Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 is focused on the Big Swap,' said Ms Lamb. 'The message is unequivocal, for producers to benefit, shoppers must actually put Fairtrade in their baskets – they can only sell more if we buy more.'