Ethical retailers received a boost today, with the announcement that sales of Fairtrade products have gone up by 81% in the last 12 months.
Released today to coincide with the start of Fairtrade fortnight, the figures also revealed that sales have increased from £273m in 2006 to nearly half a billion pounds in 2007.
Among the top-selling products were bananas, with sales topping £150m; coffee, which rose 24% to over £117m; and tea, which rose by 24% to just over £30m.
The Fairtrade Foundation, which is responsible for certification in the UK, added that by the end of the year, ethically sourced tea will account for a tenth of all the tea sold in the UK.
Harriet Lamb, the foundation’s executive director, said that with three in five adults in the UK now able to recognise the Fairtrade mark, knowing how goods are sourced is becoming an essential part of many people’s shopping habits.
“The public have a huge and growing appetite for Fairtrade, and increasing numbers of people are buying Fairtrade goods as a practical action to help tackle poverty in the developing world.
“That’s good news for the seven million people around the world who benefit from the Fairtrade system, as well as those who have been campaigning since the early 1990s to make trade fairer.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008
