A giant billboard made from over 5,000 bananas has been unveiled to mark the start of the Fairtrade Fortnight 'Make Bananas Fair' campaign.
Created by artists Henry Coate and Toby Crowther, the billboard measures 6 x 4 metres, took three days and 11 hours to make, and features the iconic raised Fairtrade fist clutching a banana.
It forms part of Fairtrade Foundation's bidto try and get the UK government to end the bitter supermarket price wars which are trapping thousands of banana farmers and workers in poverty.
The launch, on February 24, was attended by two TV stars and campaign supporters in comedian Harry Hill and Made In Chelsea star Cheska Hull.
Hill said: “While the banana business is booming, not everyone is enjoying the benefits. Price wars in supermarkets, coupled with the rise in the cost of producing bananas, mean many banana farmers and workers are unable to put enough food on the table or provide basics such as education and healthcare. This simply isn’t fair.”
The UK consumes over five billion bananas every year, but over the last decade prices of bananas have nearly halved, while the costs of production and living have doubled.
The Fairtrade Foundation has teamed up with Colombian banana farmer, Foncho Cantillo, to petition the government to investigate supermarket price wars, which are driving down the price of the UK’s favourite fruit and threatening the futures of thousands of struggling farmers and workers.
Hull added: “I was privileged enough to visit Fairtrade banana plantations in Ghana earlier this year and learnt how Fairtrade can change communities. That’s why I am sticking with Foncho to make bananas fair.”
Other celebrities supporting the campaign include Amanda Holden, Caroline Flack, Eddie Izzard, Rankin, Helen Skelton, Sarah Parish, Sara Cox, Aggie MacKenzie, Simon Rimmer, Simon Reeve and Angela Griffin.
Cheryl McGechie, director of public engagement at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “The UK is leading the way on Fairtrade, yet we’re also one of the worst markets for squeezing the value out of the banana trade and keeping prices down. Most British consumers don’t support cheap bananas coming at the cost of others’ misery.
'Although Fairtrade provides a vital safety net, we need government intervention to end unfair supermarket pricing practices so farmers and workers everywhere can get a fairer deal. This fortnight, which runs to 9 March, we want to make a real impact to show how we can all make a difference to the lives of the people who grow our favourite fruit.”
All bananas used to create the billboard, which is on Clapham Common, will be donated to local food banks and Battersea Park Children’s Zoo.
