Fairtrade Sales Still Holding Up

Fairtrade sales have not been hit by the recession because the movement chimes with current calls for more responsible capitalism, according to a trade chief.

Fairtrade Fortnight is expected to show another increase in sales, after a 40% jump in 2010, under the scheme which aims to pay producers decent prices for crops and guarantees a premium payment for community projects.

With the failings of capitalism never more obvious, according to Fairtrade Foundation Executive Director Harriet Lamb, the scheme is the prime example of how we can do business more responsibly.  She said that now people have less money and are more insecure about the future, they are thinking more about how they spend their cash.

The system of fair trade is now increasingly in the mainstream, although Ms Lamb said she does not think it has become so mainstream that people see it as part of the broken economic system, insisting that the movement has maintained its local, community links.

Take a Step for Fairtrade in 2012!

Starting in Fairtrade Fortnight (27 February – 11 March 2012), the Fairtrade Foundation is challenging the public to take a step in the right direction by thinking about what they can do every day, every week or every month throughout 2012 to make a difference to the lives of farmers in the developing world who produce the products they buy – whether that be choosing to buy a Fairtrade coffee on the way to work, or making sure their weekly shopping baskets contain one or two more Fairtrade products like Fairtrade tea or bananas, or encouraging their friends and family to switch to Fairtrade.

M&S Update on Plan A Programme

 Marks & Spencer has released an update on the progress of its Plan A ethical and sustainability programme - including its "Ethical Excellence" award for a denim factory in Bangladesh and a woven fabrics unit in Indonesia.  The two facilities, it said, offer world class working conditions, better productivity, excellent industrial relations, a developed education and training programme and pay among the best salaries in the industry.

"Plan A continues to deliver a more sustainable M&S", said Plan A CSR and Sustainable Business Director, Richard Gillies.