Fairtrade is a simple yet incredibly important idea – it’s all about giving the people who produce the things you buy a fair price for their work.
This may seem obvious, but lots of people in poorer countries have to sell their goods at prices so low that they can’t make a decent living.
Often, only a tiny bit of the money you pay for something goes to the person who actually made it! This happens a lot when we import things from poorer countries.
Did you know that nearly half the people in the world live on less that £2 a day?
How would you feel if you only received a tiny bit of the money you deserved for producing something you worked so hard on?
This is where the Fairtrade Foundation comes in!
The Fairtrade Foundation
The Fairtrade Foundation was set up to help producers in poorer countries get a fair price for their work.
So when you buy something with a Fairtrade logo on it, you know that a fair amount of the money is going towards helping the community where it came from.
This extra money is usually put into things that can help the local community – like bicycles to help workers travel to work or new wells to provide water.
Fair Labour too!
As well as making sure that people get the money they deserve for the work they do, there is also a lot of work needed to make sure people work in suitable conditions.
The Fairtrade Foundation makes sure that all their products come from farms and factories with fair working conditions. This means that workers are treated well, and children are hopefully sent to school so they can get an education – just like you!.
There are many everyday foods and products that you can buy with Fairtrade. All are easily identifiable with a special Fairtrade sticker.
Some Fairtrade foods you will easily spot see are:
- Fruits – bananas, mangos, pineapples and grapefruits are now often available as Fairtrade. So as well as getting one of your 5 a Day, you’ll be helping farmers across the world
- Chocolate – from chocolate bars to chocolate cakes, chocolate sauce to gift boxes!
How can you get involved?
As well as buying Fairtrade products, there are lots of fantastic campaigns to get involved in too.
For example, you can help your school become a Fairtrade School – just ask your teacher how you can get involved.
Watch this video from the Fairtrade Foundation, where Tayna, a 13 year old student from London visits the Dominican Republic to meet cocoa farmers, to find out how cocoa is produced and see the impact of Fairtrade.