Fairtrade representatives met last week to discuss plans to make next year’s Fairtrade Fortnight bigger and better.
Members of the 180 Fairtrade licensed companies and 200 suppliers and wholesalers agreed the annual event was the best time to push Fairtrade through the commercial sector.
The latest data from TNS shows that household penetration of Fairtrade products rose 20 per cent to 40 per cent this year.
And sales volumes have trebled over the fortnight in previous years when supported by point-of-sale material.
Mark Varney, business development manager at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “We often hear people in business saying they see the publicity which surrounds Fairtrade Fortnight every year and it makes them wish they had done something to join in. This is an early chance to get involved.”
The Fairtrade Foundation can help business in many ways from giving guidance on promotional activity to explaining how best to stock Fairtrade products, he added.
The consumer message for next year’s Fairtrade Fortnight will be Make Fairtrade Your Habit.
It will include a celebrity poster campaign where famous names will reveal their Fairtrade shopping habits.
“Habit plays a big part in our choices when we go shopping. Our aim this year is to show people that Fairtrade gives you more from your shopping,” said Varney.
A special trade leaflet explaining how and why the trade can make the most of Fairtrade Fortnight will be available on-line at www.fairtrade.org.uk from December 16.
