The rise and rise of Fairtrade

We hope that you’re taking part in this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight by filling your shopping bags with goodies from chocolate to t-shirts. 

Forster have been working with the Fairtrade Foundation – for the forth year running – on their annual event, this year developing and designing marketing materials from in-store advertising to stakeholder information packs.

And with sales in the last year rocketing 81% to just under half a billion pounds, Fairtrade is certainly on the up. 

So with announcements of more government funding and an ambitious new five year strategy from the Fairtrade Foundation, how far has Fairtrade come - as a business and as a charity helping people in the developing world?  And more importantly, how can you get involved?

Forster’s long standing relationship with the Fairtrade Foundation, means we’ve been part of the process that has seen sales grow from around £140 million in 2005 to £493 million in 2007.

The Fairtrade Foundation’s five year plan hopes to capitalise on the strong growth in sales of key products – such as coffee, tea and bananas – and has the target of a 50% market share in these products by 2012.  They also plan to increase sales in products newer to the standard, such as cotton, which saw growth of 660% in 2007 from the previous year.  thanks to ranges from high street retailers, including M&S, Topshop, Monsoon and  Next and Sainsburys.

Other changes in the plan include scaling up their impact in developing countries through a funded programme to bring new people into the Fairtrade system.  Some detail about how the Foundation will adapt their own strategy and operations to meet these aims has also been disclosed.

The Fairtrade Foundation will use extra government investment, part of the £1.2 billion for Fairtrade announced by the International Development Secretary, to kickstart its ambitious new strategy to double the market for Fairtrade products to £1 billion pounds by 2010 and to £2 billion by 2012.  New product ranges planned include seafood, soy products and handicrafts. 

Forster have worked with the Fairtrade Foundation since 2005, when our objective was to use Fairtrade Fortnight to increase ‘buy in’ to the Fairtrade proposition among consumers and stakeholders and to encourage consumers to show their support through increased purchasing. 

Since then our contribution has ranged from media relations campaigns to raise consumer awareness, to engaging celebrity support and building retail partnerships to the development, design and production of marketing materials to promote the Fortnight.

Find out more about our work with Fairtrade