Fairtrade Fortnight 2020 Begins This Week

A two-week event to help highlight fairer working conditions for farmers and food and drink producers takes centre stage this week with the start of Fairtrade Fortnight 2020!

After celebrating their 25th anniversary last year, the Fairtrade Foundation are continuing to help spread the positive message of Fairtrade produce and fairer working conditions for farmers and workers in the food industry as Fairtrade Fortnight 2020 takes place this week.

Starting on Monday 24th of February and ending on Sunday 8th of March, Fairtrade Fortnight continues an annual campaign of helping to ensure fairer working conditions and incomes for many of the workers and farmers who produce a wide selection of the food and drink we consume on a regular basis.

This year, the theme shifts in focus to ‘She Deserves Fairtrade’, bringing forward the call for women cocoa farmers to be able to earn a fair and equal wage for their hard work, along with the intention of sharing stories of how the Fairtrade movement has helped benefit those who produce our chocolate bars and other cocoa based confectionery.

She Deserves Fairtrade

Last year, Fairtrade Fortnight brought attention to the current situation for many of the women farmers in West Africa, after the shocking statistic came to light that the typical cocoa farmer in Cote D’Ivoire lives on just 74p per day, meaning that almost all cocoa farmers will live in poverty.

For women in the country, the Fairtrade Foundation revealed that the situation is also just as unreasonable, if not more, with much fewer rights being provided to them, even though they carry out regular daily chores and tasks such as:

• Planting and harvesting on the farms
• Carrying water and collecting wood
• Transporting cocoa beans to the markets

Alongside this, they will also look after their children and cook and clean for their families, which is why the Fairtrade Foundation are pushing forward the issue for these women to have the same rights as many male workers have.

The Fairtrade Foundation have since managed to begin bringing this issue to the wider public, with 4,000 campaigner events taking place last year that reached nearly 1 million people.

And during Ivorian Independence Day on the 7th August 2019, many of the Fairtrade Foundation’s campaigners joined their staff to travel to 10 Downing Street and hand over a petition containing more than 50,000 signatures calling for the government to back the campaign for cocoa farmers to receive a fairer dealer.

The Story So Far Ahead of Fairtrade Fortnight 2020

Some great steps have been taken so far in the pursuit of ensuring fairer living incomes and working conditions for many farmers and workers.

Here are a few of the main figures and statistics to highlight the effects of the Fairtrade Fortnight movement so far:

• 9 out of 10 people can now recognise the Fairtrade Mark
• 35% of people can recall the message of Fairtrade and the Fairtrade Foundation
• 10,000 new supporters have joined the Fairtrade cause
• 26% of people will frequently choose Fairtrade products over non-Fairtrade
• There are now nearly 1 billion opportunities to see Fairtrade being promoted and discussed in the media
• 4,000 Fairtrade themed events have been held by campaigners
• Over 50 Fairtrade partners have got involved with promoting the Fairtrade message

Going Fairtrade

It’s easier than ever to support the Fairtrade Foundation and the Fairtrade message at home or in the workplace, with a large selection of Fairtrade products available to view right now on OPInfo.

When it comes to Fairtrade coffee and tea, there’s a great selection of brands to choose from such as Pukka, Clipper and CaféDirect.

And for sweet treats and tasty snacks, take a look at Green & Blacks chocolate and Lotus Caramelised Biscuits, both independently certified for meeting Fairtrade standards.

So get involved and go Fairtrade for Fairtrade Fortnight 2020 to bring the fight for true change to the masses.