The Fairtrade Foundation: Case Study on Communicating Food Sustainability Information to Consumers

The Fairtrade Mark is a product certification that indicates that social, economic and environmental aspects of production have been certified against the Fairtrade Standards for Producers and Traders. In the UK, the Mark is managed by the Fairtrade Foundation, founded in 1992. The Foundation is the UK member of Fairtrade International which owns the Fairtrade Mark and manages the standards behind the Mark. Fairtrade International is a multi-stakeholder association of 22 member organisations including 19 national labelling initiatives across Europe, Japan, North America, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand and three networks of producer organisations from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Fairtrade global system is 50% owned by producers representing farmer and worker organisations, meaning producers have a say in decision-making within Fairtrade’s General Assembly and on Fairtrade International’s Board of Directors. Adherence to the Fairtrade Standards is certified by an independent body, FLOCERT, ensuring consumers and businesses can have full trust in the Mark. The fair trade movement in the UK started as a citizen-led campaign to create change in how food was produced. Since its launch, the Fairtrade Foundation has worked alongside this grassroots movement to raise awareness and educate consumers and citizens about where their food and agricultural products come from, how they are grown and the living and working conditions of the people who produce them. 

Under the umbrella of the One Planet network Consumer Information Programme, UNEP, WWF and GlobeScan developed a research project to improve our understanding of how the provision of sustainability information can influence consumers’ food choices. Stay tuned for more articles in the series published every Tuesday and Friday over the coming weeks.