Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 runs from the 23rd of February to the 8th of March.
Win this hamper!
Fairtrade is now more important than ever: poor people are the ones most direly affected by economic recessions. While we might all be feeling the pinch here, it’s hard to comprehend how delicate existence can be for the poorest of the poor. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall wrote an eloquent defence of Fairtrade in the Guardian on Saturday, which is really worth a read.
We’ll be paying special attention to Fairtrade food this week, with updates on events, recipes and a Fairtrade giveaway – you could win a delicious Fair Break Hamper from the Oxfam Ireland Fair Trade Online Shop.
The Fair Break Hamper is a reusable cloth hamper packed full of treats for your coffee break, including:
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Fair Break Hamper
Cafedirect Organic Roast and Ground Coffee 227g
- Teadirect 80 Teabags
- Chocolate Chip Cookies 200g
- Liberation Nuts lightly salted 100g
- Divine Dark Chocolate bar 150g
- Divine Milk Chocolate bar 100g
- Mango and Brazil Bar 40g
- Date and Walnut Bar 40g
- Burnt Sugar Original Fudge 180g
- Apricot and Raisin Geobar box of 6
To win this superb hamper, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling us whether or not you buy Fairtrade food, and why. There’s no right or wrong answers, we just want to hear your opinions.
Terms
- This competition is only open to residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Do not enter this competition if you are outside the island of Ireland.
- Please make sure you leave a working email address with your comment (email addresses will not be publicly displayed) so we can contact you for your details.
- Please do not comment more than once, if we see more than one comment from the same address we will delete all your comments and you will no longer be eligible for the competition. If you have questions about the competition, use our contact form.
- The competition will close at noon on Monday 9th March, and the winner will be announced later that day.
- There is no cash alternative for this prize.
Thursday 5 March, 2009 at 10:25 pm
I never (knowingly) have bought any Fairtrade products. Until recently I did not even know they existed – and I work in a catering environment. My teenage children have encouraged me to try to introduce them into the shopping, and have brought me leaflets from school. However, as my shopping is more a trolley dash than a browse, and with a more restricted budget than ever, this has not yet happened. Perhaps more promotion of the products that are available from Fairtrade, I (and several of my peers) will be won over. I am 44 years of age, and even changing in some small way when shopping should make a noticeable difference.
Friday 6 March, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I buy Fairtrade items when that option is available doing the weekly shop – usually tea, coffee, chocolate and bananas. Tesco Fairtrade tea, which has already been mentioned, I’ve found to be a good buy. I think supermarkets are getting better at putting the Fairtrade items alongside the other brands as opposed to filtering them off into specialist areas, where you can’t make direct comparisons on price.
Slightly off-topic – I was delighted to see that M&S introduced a range of towels made with Fairtrade cotton and wish more clothing manufacturers and retailers would offer these options.
Friday 6 March, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I must admit that I really did’nt know much about fair trade products until this week, after reading several articles about the benefits to the workers in the developing countries, I will definately keep my eyes open when shopping, and make sure to include some Fair Trade products. ” Go Bananas” really helped to make a lot of people aware of the difference that would be made if we all chose some Fairtrade products when out shopping.
Monday 9 March, 2009 at 7:19 am
I do try to buy Fairtrade products whenever possible. Fairtrade coffee and bananas would be the 2 products that are regularly on my shopping list. At times these can be cheaper than the other options available so it works out quite good.
Monday 9 March, 2009 at 8:04 am
The concept is grand and if given a choice I will often buy fairtrade products however there is so much discussion over if the extra funds actually get to the intended parties. Sadly we are left to make our choice and hope it in some way lightens the load of poverty.