Fairtrade Fortnight rolls around!

Ah yes, 20% discounts at the Co-op on its entire Fairtrade range (alcohol, chocolate, coffee, flapjacks, cakes, sugar, bananas, avocados, etc etc etc)...it can only be Fairtrade Fortnight again!

This is Britain's fourteenth Fairtrade Fortnight, whose lead organiser is the Fairtrade Foundation - the people behind the certification of the Fairtrade mark.

From the entire banana crop (100m bananas) of St. Lucia recieving Fairtrade prices, to the news that Fairtrade sales now top £300m a year, and from statistics showing that the Fairtrade mark reaches over 2,500 different products to supermarkets (chiefly the Co-op, Marks and Spencers and Sainsbury's) falling over each other to extend the reach of their Fairtrade range, things are looking up for the kind of consumption that offers a helping hand to producers across the world.

The social premium that Fairtrade certification provides is a fundamental idea behind the concept - as a kind of 'top-up', it offers an investment that would otherwise take years to build up. Where these additional funds are invested is decided by a local committee of farmers (promoting cooperation and mutual support). Examples of projects include building more classrooms, processing equipment, housing, university and high school scholarships, clinics and village halls.

More details on local Aberystwyth events to promote Fairtrade will soon be up - take this chance to choose Fairtrade at supermarkets, shops and cafes now!