Fairtrade Foundation Turns 25 – Time to Celebrate!

This year marks the 25th anniversary since the Fairtrade Foundation was established, with celebrations taking place across the country over the upcoming weekend.

2019 is the 25th anniversary of the Fairtrade Foundation, a revolutionary organisation and standout movement which has helped to improve the working conditions and provide fairer wages for farmers and other food and drink workers.

Today, 1.6 million farmers and workers are supported by the Fairtrade Foundation and the Fairtrade symbol has become one of the UK’s most visible and striking ethical labels to feature on the packaging of products and to be displayed in Fairtrade approved businesses and locations.

In fact, the Fairtrade Symbol is now visible on almost 5,000 Fairtrade-certified products that are currently on sale in the UK including Clipper Tea and Cafédirect products, both of which were also part of Organic September.

The Fairtrade Revolution

Established in 1992, the Fairtrade Foundation first comprised of a group of several charities including the likes of Oxfam and Traidcraft.

It was two years later in 1994, that the very first brands would launch the first Fairtrade products to be made available in the UK, with these brands being Cafédirect, Clipper, Percol and Green & Blacks.

As the years have progressed, these brands have continued to introduce new Fairtrade products, along with providing other contributions that have helped to strengthen the Fairtrade movement and create a better life for food and drink producers across the world as a result.

Michael Gidney, Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, commented in a recent press release on the success of Fairtrade and the impact it has had on a variety of communities overall.

“Twenty-five years ago, most brands paid little attention to the human cost of their business and most people were unaware of the poverty and degradation that was the reality of life for millions of farmers and workers around the world.

Fairtrade set out to change that and put people and the planet before profit.

Many said that it couldn’t be done, but the public took Fairtrade to their hearts and into their shopping baskets from Day One.

Together we led a revolution in the way food is traded.

Millions around the world now benefit from fairer trading terms and better working conditions than would ever have been possible before.”

Join in With Fairtrade Foundation’s Celebrations

With the celebrations for the Fairtrade Foundation’s 25th anniversary ongoing from now until Sunday the 6th of October, you may be wondering how you can help get involved and join in with the party.

The official Fairtrade website lists several suggestions on how you can join in with celebrating their 25th anniversary with them, including:

1. Get Creative with the Fairtrade Mark

You could start by expressing your creativity in your home or at your workplace by providing your own unique take on the Fairtrade Mark.

If you are running low on creativity though, you could join in with some of Fairtrade Foundation’s other suggested ideas or go and view one of the recreations of the iconic Fairtrade symbol through giant ‘living’ Fairtrade Marks, the likes of which will be showcased in Glasgow (Scotland), Hull (Yorkshire), St David’s (Wales), Trafalgar Square (London) and Camborne (Cornwall).

2. Share Your Support on Social Media

If you are Social Media savvy, you could help promote 25 years of the Fairtrade Foundation through posting any of their themed Social Media images on Facebook and Twitter and you could even update your Facebook photo with an official Fairtrade 25 frame to show your support.

Why not also share some of their videos too to really help spread the great word of Fairtrade and how it has made a positive impact on the lives of farmers and food and drink producers worldwide?

3. Throw a Fairtrade Party

Should you really want to throw yourself fully into the spirit of celebrating 25 years of Fairtrade, then you could consider throwing your very own Fairtrade party at your workplace.

It could be a great opportunity to introduce the great range of Fairtrade approved produce to your colleagues that may not be aware of the work that the Fairtrade Foundation continues to do for so many whilst at the same time, treating everyone to some delicious food and drink to break up the work day.

4. Attend a Fairtrade Conference

If holding a party doesn’t really appeal to you, then why not look into attending a Fairtrade Supporters Conference near you?

Each event features a selection of great guest speakers discussing all of the very aspects of Fairtrade and how the Fairtrade Foundation continues to make a real difference to the lives of farmers and workers, engaging workshops to get involved with and the chance to network with other individuals passionate about promoting Fairtrade practices.