Fairtrade Fortnight 2023: Protect the foods you love!

Why Fairtrade?

Making the small switch to Fairtrade supports farmers around the globe to protect the future of some of our favourite foods like bananas and coffee.

Buying Fairtrade means that all farmers, no matter big or small get treated fairly and are paid a good price for their produce.

Farmers are facing extreme weather and cost challenges due to climate change. ensuring they are paid a fair price is key to allowing them to overcome these challenges and continue in farming for years to come.

Climate change and Fairtrade

Climate change impacts upon areas of the world in different ways. The impact of changing temperatures in areas where temperatures are already extreme – like around the equator or polar regions, can be severe.

A 1°C temperature rise may not seem too significant in places with milder weather like the UK. However, the same change in in Antarctica could cause ice to melt faster, or in warmer climates – crops could fail.

There’s a lot that goes into farming from fuel to fertiliser, as costs increase globally we need to make sure we support Fairtrade farmers so they can continue to invest in sustainable farming methods, which can often be more expensive.

72% of farmers feel that the Fairtrade price they receive helps them to invest in their farms to prepare for climate change, so it’s key we support them where we can.

Changing weather patterns

Not only are global temperatures increasing, but climate change also brings with it changes in weather patterns like increased periods of rain and flooding. If you’re a coffee lover, up to half of the world’s land currently used to farm coffee may be unusable by 2050 due to predicted flooding.

These impacts are starting to be felt around the globe with 93% of Kenyan Fairtrade farmers explaining that they are already experiencing changes and difficulties.

On the flipside, some areas like in East Africa are experiencing drought, which is also making crop growing a difficult task.

It’s not all doom and gloom

The good news is that there are more people choosing Fairtrade which means extra income, power and support for the community. You can do your bit to support this simply by buying Fairtrade – look out for the logo on foods that you buy!

We’d like to live in a world where Fairtrade farmers can invest their income in their farming, and not worry about investing in adapting to a changing climate alone – all whilst making a good wage.

As a global society we are all making great strides to stop climate change in its tracks and reduce these impacts. Across the NHS we’re doing out bit to reduce our impact and have a national target to meet Net Zero emissions by 2040.