Fair trade sales are becoming increasingly popular. Every 2 years for the last eight, UK shoppers have doubled the amount of Fair Trade goods they buy. Fair trade sales in the UK have been growing on average at 40 per cent, per year. The total value of fair trade products sold in the UK in 2006 was £284 million, up from £196 million in 2005, and a growth of over 1,000 per cent since 1998.

This growth is not restricted to the UK: the market for fair trade labelled products has been growing worldwide at 30-40 per cent a year. In 2006 £1.1 billion was spent by consumers on Fair Trade certified products. This is a 42 per cent increase on the previous year and directly benefits over 7 million farmers, workers and their families in developing countries. The areas of particular growth were: cocoa (93%), coffee (53%), tea (41%), bananas (31%) and cotton (doubled in 1 year).

No country has reduced poverty in the last 30 years without also increasing trade. This is why the government has led international efforts to secure fairer trade rules. As part of this the government has committed significant resources: £12 million on Fair Trade promotion since 1997 and 0 million every year from 2010 on Aid for Trade (which helps promote developing countries’ ability to trade by investing in relevant infrastructure, among other things).

But there is more that we can do as consumers. Three simple steps will help grow the fair trade market and deliver benefits to some of the world’s poorest countries.

First, where possible, buy products from developing countries.

Second, if there is no clear labelling then ask the retailer where the product has come from and ask that they provide this information more clearly in the future.

Third, ask about the working conditions of those who produced the goods.