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The origins of Fairtrade is to help producers in developing countries achieve better trading opportunities at the same time as promoting sustainable farming. Fairtrade Fortnight is an annual campaign to promote and increase awareness of Fairtrade products and the aims of the foundation. In the UK this this year it runs from 26th February to 11th March 2018.
Although many of us think of Fairtrade as being a ‘noughties’ concept, it started as long ago as the 1940’s and has since seen a steady increase in fair trade products and uptake. However, the introduction in 1998 of a unified Fairtrade certification and labelling initiative is when Fairtrade as a brand and concept really caught on.
In the main Fairtrade products are those that are grown as a primary use product, such as tea, coffee, cocoa and bananas, or as an ingredient, such as butters and oils, for cosmetics and beauty products.
How do you know if your paper comes from a sustainable source?
In the printing industry we do not have a product that falls directly under the remit of Fairtrade, although we have a ‘fair trade for trees’ worldwide organisation that promotes the same philosophies; sustainable forest management and a fair price for the wood that eventually becomes pulp. At A Local Printer all the paper and board that we use is manufactured from pulp from well managed and certified forests. You can find out more information about forest management at the Forest Stewardship Council website.
As an eco-friendly printer we have a close relationship with our Fairtrade customers, printing and supplying packaging and promotional materials that share the same philosophies as their own products; raw materials that are sourced from a managed and sustainable supply stream, for a fair price.
For more information on protecting and delivering fair trade for trees click through to Rainforest Alliance and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
