It has been wonderful to note the continued growth of the Fairtrade market in the UK throughout the financial crisis and ongoing economic downturn. In 2009, despite the start of the recession, figures from the market research firm TNS show that consumers are spending more on Fairtrade products. The independent survey, of 25,000 households, found the cost of the average purchase grew by 5.5% from £18.19 to £19.17. This is fantastic news and demonstrates the UKs appetite for fair and ethical products and ways of doing business.
Alongside this, it is just as encouraging to see the continued growth of ethical investment. There's currently around £11 billion invested in Britain's green and ethical funds, up from £4 billion ten years ago (figures released by EIRIS October 2012).
The week of 25
th February saw Fairtrade fortnight, and here at Gaeia we celebrated the occasion with a ‘Bake Off’, a competition involving employees baking cakes using Fairtrade ingredients. The event was a great success, with everyone getting involved in baking (or at least eating!) delicious cakes. Those who chose not to bake made donations to the Fairtrade cause.
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