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Rising Revenue of Fairtrade Goods – Will it stop?

Posted in Uncategorized by emmafoster on the June 12, 2008

A recent press release from the Fairtrade Labelling organisation (FLO) has indicated that there has been a massive 47% rise in sales of fairtrade products from 2006-2007, the largest annual rise yet.

They say that this is due to the expansion of existing markets for fairtrade in the US and UK and the new markets across Europe like Switzerland and Norway.

They also say that their average of 40% annual rise in sales over the last six years, there is still room for further expansion of the fairtrade label and will be further demand for products.

The 3 products with the most impressive increase in sales are

  1. Juices (400%)
  2. Sugar (200%)
  3. Bannannas (72%)

http://www.fairtrade.net/single_view.html?&cHash=ec8730e426&tx_ttnews[backPid]=168&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=41

So with the statistics in place, is this proof for green and ethical consumerism?

Is it due to marketing and advertising that we now opt for  more moral choice of goods?

Are businesses cashing in on this new trend and offering more choice of fairtrade/organic/environmentally friendly products? http://environmentalnewsonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=40

Or are we merely becoming more intelligent and recognising that a small choice can make a difference if we all play the same game?

The debate goes on but what do you think?

 An interesting read from The Economist http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8380592

1 Comment

One Response to 'Rising Revenue of Fairtrade Goods – Will it stop?'

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  1. Brian Cesarotti said,

    on June 12, 2008 on 10:18 pm

    I think there is definitely room to grow. While growing 40%, it still makes up a pretty small proportion of total sales of these items. I think the distribution of these products has gotten more efficient, making the prices more competitive (also by cutting out a lot of middlemen), and when prices are close, consumers will go the ethical route, especially for more “premium” food products rather than basic staples.

    I’m actually participating in expanding the movement among colleges, and I can say there is a lot of room to grow in that area.

    I think retailers will see this rise and look to offer these products, giving momentum. The real limit in growth is how fast the producers can organize and fair trade practices can be adapted, but for now any growth in demand will be met.


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