Retailers and companies rally to "The Big Swap" for the Fair Trade Fortnight

FROM Fairtrade coffee and cakes to Fairtrade cotton and cosmetics – big name retailers and companies across the UK and Ireland have embraced this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight campaign, ‘The Big Swap,’ by signing up to major product swaps for 2010. Innovative business approaches to Fairtrade also include the UK’s first 100 per cent Fairtrade television advertisement break on Channel Four and a Cadbury’s musical gift for swapping consumers featuring an exclusive track by Paolo Nutini with Ghanaian group, The Ghana Band.

Now in the second week of Fair Trade Fortnight, The Big Swap encourages people to permanently swap everyday shopping basket items such as tea, coffee, chocolate, cotton, t-shirts, pineapples, bananas, cakes, sugar and a host of other products during Fairtrade Fortnight (22 February – 7 March). With companies rallying behind the Big Swap theme, consumers will find it easier to make the Big Swap and help reach the Fairtrade Fortnight campaign target of one million and one swaps. During Fairtrade Fortnight, the Fairtrade Foundation will tot up product swaps on a special online swap-o-meter at www.bigswap.org.uk.

Fairtrade Fortnight is the annual nationwide campaign to promote awareness of Fairtrade and encourage people to buy products which carry the FAIRTRADE Mark in order to help farmers in developing countries. Fairtrade Fortnight unites Fairtrade supporters, bringing together retailers, manufacturers, producers and consumers.

Business Big Swaps so far include:

Chocolate:

• Cadbury Dairy Milk – already Fairtrade certified –- is celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight by releasing an album, Big Swap Songs, which includes an exclusive track by Paolo Nutini plus five other UK chart hits covered by Ghanaian group, The Ghana Band. The release has been created as a free thank-you to anyone who swaps to any Fairtrade product, chocolate or otherwise, during the fortnight.
• Dorset Cereals is offering two Fairtrade chocolate granola recipes using Fairtrade chocolate
• Green & Black’s will switch its entire range of chocolate bars and beverages to 100 per cent Fairtrade (and organic) by the end of 2011.
• Nestle’s four finger KitKat is now Fairtrade-certified and will be on sale in time for Fairtrade Fortnight.

Sugar:

• The UK’s largest caterer, Compass, has committed to purchasing 100 per cent Fairtrade sugar across its business by June 2010 with sugar sachets available in Fairtrade Fortnight.

Cotton:

• ASOS is launching a fashionable new Fairtrade cotton jersey wear collection.
• Marks & Spencer is launching Fairtrade cotton nightwear in its Per Una range.
• Tesco has agreed to double the number of Fairtrade cotton school uniforms in its stock.

Tea:

• Sainsbury’s remains on track to convert all of its own-brand tea to Fairtrade for Fairtrade Fortnight (adding to its existing 100 per cent Fairtrade ranges of bananas, sugar, roast and ground coffee).
• Clipper Teas has switched all of its green tea range to Fairtrade, with new packs in store for Fairtrade Fortnight. Clipper tea was one of the first products to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark in 1994.

Cosmetics:

• Bulldog, the UK’s largest natural skincare brand for men has launched a range of Fairtrade products including shaving gel and moisturiser. The range contains green tea from Sri Lanka, shea butter from Ghana and sugar from Paraguay.
• Boots has added a new Fairtrade Honey Body Butter to its Extracts range, using Fairtrade honey from Chile.

Cakes:

• Starbucks is running a social networking campaign encouraging customers to swap their regular sweet treat to a new 100% Fairtrade-certified brownie.

Bananas:

• More than 1.4 million bags of Fairtrade bananas in all Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, ASDA and Co-op stores will carry special Big Swap stickers.
• Fairtrade licensees supporting the stickering are Pratts, Winfresh, Dole, Fyffes and Mack Multiples.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, says: ‘We are delighted that so many businesses are rallying to our call to swap to using Fairtrade products and also introducing new products, making it easier for consumers to make their own swaps.

‘We have had fantastic support for many years from many companies which are 100 per cent Fairtrade – Liberation, Equal Exchange, Divine, Cafe Direct, Zaytoun and others – and now these pioneers are being joined by other companies, helping to spread the Fairtrade message even further.

‘Fairtrade Fortnight is a fantastic opportunity for retailers and companies to promote Fairtrade, improve product visibility at point-of-sale and offer customers access to more Fairtrade items. Customers consistently tell us that they would buy more Fairtrade goods if they were available so we know the market is there.’

The value of UK Fairtrade sales has grown more than tenfold since 2001, reaching nearly £700 million in 2008. Fairtrade now helps more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – to have more security and control over their lives. Sales figures for 2009 will be announced on the first day of Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 and are expected to reflect key commercial developments and show steady growth in some categories.

Gwyn Burr, Sainsbury’s customer director, says: ‘Despite the current focus on price and great value, shoppers clearly want to know that producers are getting a fair deal. We believe that Fairtrade is a great way to provide customers with the best of both worlds – ethically sourced products at affordable prices.’