One in every two adults in the UK now recognises the Fairtrade mark according to the latest figures.
Research conducted by MORI (Market and Opinion Research International) shows that 50 per cent of the adult population can now identify the certification mark, up from 25 per cent in 2003 and 39 per cent last year.
The news has been welcomed by the Fairtrade Foundation, which said it is particularly pleased that the mark is now reaching younger and more diverse audiences.
According to the Mori date, the highest recognition of Fairtrade is now among the 25-34 age group with a 19 point increase to 55 per cent. People in this group are now just as likely as older age groups to buy Fairtrade products regularly it is claimed.
The poll also shows the majority of people buying Fairtrade are recent converts - an indication of future promise for sales.
More than half of Fairtrade buyers (53 per cent) first bought a Fairtrade product in the past year, including seven per cent who first bought Fairtrade in the past three months. MORI said this figure equates to three per cent of all adults in the UK buying Fairtrade over the past three months.
Harriet Lamb, director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “These figures hold great promise for the future of Fairtrade. They show we are widening the appeal and enabling more and more new consumers to join this growing trend. Reaching 50 per cent of the population is a hugely significant marker for us.
“Price is emphatically not consumers’ only concern when they go shopping - they do want the reassurance that farmers in developing countries receive a better deal.”
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