A new campaign for Fairtrade Fortnight 2024 will show that consumers have the power to product the future of everyday essentials including bananas, cocoa, and coffee.

Two new YouGov research studies commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation show that Britain's most popular Fairtrade buy is bananas (57%), closely followed by chocolate (54%) and coffee (43%). 

Entitled "Be the Change," Fairtrade Fortnight will celebrate the impact created by millions of people across the UK for farmers and agricultural workers overseas by choosing Fairtrade chocolate, coffee, tea, bananas, flowers, and more—with around 7 in 10 UK adults (69%) having said they bought a Fairtrade product during the last year. 

Thanks to public support and company commitments, £1.7 billion in Fairtrade Premium payments have been generated globally between 1994 and 2022. In 2023, retail sales of Fairtrade products generated around £28 million in Fairtrade Premium payments for producers to invest in business, community and projects of their choice including healthcare, education and environmental initiatives.

Throughout Fairtrade Fortnight, billboards strategically placed outside supermarkets in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester to catch shoppers’ eyes will riff off the research to highlight regional trends and congratulate shoppers for supporting farmers worldwide.  

In Edinburgh for example, 9 in every 10 adults (89%) bought a Fairtrade product. Meanwhile the biggest Fairtrade chocolate fans could be found in Bristol, where 65% of adults have been enjoying Fairtrade chocolate.  

Supermarkets and leading brands are putting on an exciting range of offers in stores, including the Co-op offering 10% discount on selected Fairtrade products for their members. Shoppers can also look out for well-known brands joining in with the Fairtrade Fortnight celebrations, including the likes of Maltesers, Ben & Jerry's, Green & Blacks, Clipper, Tony's Chocolonely, Cafedirect, and Guylian. 

Marie Rumsby, the Fairtrade Foundation’s Director of Advocacy, says: “This Fairtrade Fortnight is extra special as we celebrate 30 years supporting farmers and working for global trade justice. Every Fairtrade purchase makes a difference to farmers’ lives, and we want to remind shoppers that when they next visit a supermarket, they choose products with the Fairtrade logo, as these ensure farmers receive fairer prices for their hard work and can invest in their families and communities.”

“Fairtrade’s Minimum Price, Premium payments, and Standards—and the fair prices they guarantee—mean farmers who produce our much-loved products like coffee, tea, bananas and chocolate can afford to put food on the table, send their children to school, cover their farm costs, and adapt to the changing climate.”

“Without the stability a fairer trade system provides—and as farmers tell us climate change is making it harder to grow crops—it is more important now than ever to show solidarity so future generations of farmers will be able to continue farming. But choosing to buy Fairtrade products helps build their resilience to these global challenges and helps keep our favorite products on our supermarket shelves.” 

Thanks to these and other purchases, Fairtrade supports 10 million people around the world—farmers, workers, and their families—who are building healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities, with improved choice and better life chances through access to healthcare and education. 

The research reveals that significant sections of the British public continue to back fair prices and fairer terms of trade for overseas farmers:

• 85% of UK adults think farmers in low-income countries should receive stable and fair pay for the products they grow.  
• People are buying Fairtrade for the right reasons: over half (54%) of UK adults understand that buying Fairtrade has a positive impact on the lives of farmers and workers. 

For many years Fairtrade has highlighted how climate change is making fair prices even more urgent. Without the ability to invest in their farms, how can producers hope to mitigate the impact of global heating, and the risks to production and supply? Price matters, more than ever. The majority of the UK public share these concerns, with the latest poll revealing that 4 in every 5 adults in the UK (79%) are concerned about the potential effect of climate change on the price of food in the UK. Meanwhile a similarly high number—69%—are concerned about the potential effect of climate change on the supply of food in the UK. 

One Colombian Fairtrade banana farmer, Maria Doris Calvo Ortiz, recently told Fairtrade: “Sometimes, we feel like we can’t keep going, that we’ll have to give up. But then we remember the support we get from people choosing Fairtrade. It’s what keeps us going and allows us to take care of our families and our community, one banana at a time.” As bananas are sensitive to changing rainfall and weather patterns, farmers can lose entire harvests when disaster strikes. 

In addition to urging shoppers to "Be the Change" to help reach more farmers who face the challenges posed by an unfair trade system and the impacts of climate change, Fairtrade is also calling on businesses and politicians to play their part.  

The UK public support this call, with 60% of UK adults saying politicians should be doing more to ensure farmers and other agricultural workers in low-income countries are paid fairly. 

Marie added: “Buying Fairtrade is essential, but shoppers can’t ‘Be the Change’ on their own: we need the support of businesses and government to transform our global trade system so that it supports the millions of farmers and workers who produce our food. This Fortnight, we are calling on the UK public to join us in asking their newly elected MPs to pledge to ‘Be the Change’ to make trade fair, and for the new government to develop a trade policy that genuinely works for people and planet.” 

Meanwhile, thousands of grassroots supporters in communities, schools, places of worship, and universities are organizing hundreds of special events across the country to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight and 30 years of supporting farmers and workers overseas.  

To find out more about Fairtrade Fortnight, visit fairtrade.org.uk/get-involved/current-campaigns/fairtrade-fortnight.

Related: Fairtrade Foundation appoints new board of trustees chair