Small-scale farmers and workers are marginalised by the global trade system but The ‘Fairtrade’ organisation helps them bring their goods to the attention of consumers. When we buy items with the ‘Fairtrade’ logo, we know that producers benefit from:

• prices that aim to enable them to produce sustainably
• funding over and above the selling price to invest in their businesses and community
• decent working conditions and protection from discrimination and exploitation
• advance credit before they can bring their goods to market
• the ability to plan for the future and build strong relationships with buyers

When fairly traded items like tea and coffee were first introduced to us many years ago, constraints under which the goods were produced meant that taste and quality often could not compete with those of the mass market. This is now far from being the case. Food and drink items bearing the ‘Fairtrade’ logo are found in the more up-market grocery outlets, including ‘own brand’ tea and coffee. To bring this to wider attention, we recently had a ‘Fairtrade Luxury Hamper’ raffle with items donated by parishioners. For this, an enormous hamper was filled with a truly eye-opening assortment of food and drink! Those who saw it will surely have seen something new to them.

Well done to everyone who scoured local shops to find this tempting array of products and to all who bought tickets. Thank you!

What good and, perhaps, surprising discoveries have you made of ‘Fairtrade’ items? Where can we buy these products? Do share in the ‘Comments’ box at the end of this post!