What does it all mean?

We are buying more fair trade products than ever but not all consumers are convinced the premiums are making a difference. A recent survey showed that we’re still confused when it comes to understanding what the Fairtrade stamp really means.

While people are more willing to pay a little extra for these products, 80% of consumers think that brands carrying the Fairtrade logo work directly with growers, build long-term partnerships, and reinvest in grower training and development. The experts tell us that’s not how it works.

According to the Fairtrade Foundation, the company that stamps all fair trade goods, we’re spending half a billion pounds on over 3000 products. It’s not just bananas and coffee nowadays; there are products as diverse as Fairtade mulled wine and even Fairtrade boxer shorts.

Last year, Fairtrade coffee sales rose 24% to over £117m and items made with Fairtrade certified cotton increased from over half a million to just under 9.5m unit. One in four bananas sold are now Fairtrade; that’s around three million Fairtrade bananas eaten every day.

Brands that are officially marked Fairtrade guarantee a fair and stable price for farmers and an extra premium to help improve their lives. Only a small number of brands go beyond the basic standard, including hot drinks company Cafédirect and Divine Chocolate. These organisations have direct relationships with their grower partners, which sees them hold shares in the company, sit on the board of directors and have a say in how the business is run.

Cafédirect spokesman Zachary Dominitz believes his company gives small-scale farmers an opportunity to earn a decent living: “In addition to paying above market prices, over the last three years we have invested on average 60% of our profits into training and development programmes for our growers, to help build their expertise.”

Whichever approach a company chooses; it’s all helping. Fairtrade premiums are used for projects such as clean drinking water, health and education which in turn promote the wellbeing of the farmers, their families and their communities.

Shoppers are also bewildered when it comes to understanding how much money from each Fairtrade product goes back to the growers. BBC Good Food’s Fairtrade Fortnight survey found that 47% believe the same amount of money goes back to, say, coffee growers regardless of which Fairtrade coffee product they buy.

In reality, companies that buy raw materials from the Fairtrade register are required to pay the minimum Fairtrade price, which covers growers’ costs of production and provides a social premium for investment in community projects. Brand owners whose products carry the fairtrade Mark are not required to work directly with growers.