Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 (February 22 – March 7)
‘THE BIG SWAP’ is the theme for Fairtrade Fortnight 2010, which will also highlight the continued growth in Fairtrade sales and support in Ireland.
“The Big Swap is all about encouraging people to swap some of their usual purchases – tea, coffee, chocolate and bananas for example – for a Fairtrade Certified product,” says Peter Gaynor, Executive Director, Fairtrade Mark Ireland.
“Thousands of Irish consumers have already made the big swap; regularly switching some of their spending to Fairtrade products and in doing so making a real difference to the lives of producers indeveloping countries.”
The proof of this is in retail sales of FAIRTRADE Mark products in Ireland which increased by estimated 27% in 2009 to €118million – and expected to grow further in 2010. “We expect Fairtrade sales to grow again in 2010,” says Gaynor. “In the last few months, and again this week, some of the best known brands in Ireland have announced they are switching over to Fairtrade.”
In recent months, significant conversions to Fairtrade have been announced by Cadbury Ireland and
Nestlé. And this week, Ben & Jerry Ice Cream announced that it will complete the global conversion
of its entire product range to Fairtrade ingredients by 2013.
The big manufacturers are realising that Fairtrade is also good for business,” says Peter Gaynor.
“It’s also important to acknowledge that Fairtrade’s growth in this country is a testimony to the work of our volunteers – they believed in Fairtrade when it was perceived as a worthy but unrealistic niche business.”
To find out more about some of the fiartrade events that are going on around the country check out their website!
Volunteers have driven the Fairtrade Towns and Schools initiatives and 45 towns and cities north and south, including Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Galway, are now certified Fairtrade Towns. Three more – Tuam, Tipperary and Carrick-on-Suir – will be Fairtrade-certified in the next fortnight. An additional 29 towns are working towards Fairtrade Town status. These towns will be hosting their own Fairtrade Fortnight events over the next two weeks and some other Fairtrade Fortnight highlights include:
Appearances by Fairtrade ‘ambassadrice’ Stefan Steverink, aka Dutch housewife ‘Ms. Gerry’, Bewley’s ‘The Big Swap Wall” campaign – customers are invited to sign their support for Fairtrade on a wall at Bewley’s Grafton Street shop. For each signature received, the company will donate €1 directly to a Nicaraguan coffee co-operative. Three overseas producers will also be touring the country during Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 to share their first hand experience of the difference that Fairtrade’s support has made for their families and communities. They are:
- Hella Alikuru: Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Hella is the Africa Region Coordinator for the International Union of Food & Agricultural Workers (IUF)
- Josephat Sylvand: Josephat is a coffee producer and the Assistant Export Manager of Kagera Co-operative Union Ltd (KCU Ltd) in Tanzania
- Oscar González: Oscar is the communications director for the Coomprocom coffee cooperativin Matagalpa, Nicaragua
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