Fairtrade Fortnight 2023 is underway until March 12 to highlight the Fairtrade movement and its role in ensuring small-scale producers and workers are paid a fair wage.

With the climate crisis already affecting farmers, food suppliers and workers, the theme of how global warming, deforestation and biodiversity loss affect food production and shortages are still very much at the fore.

On Tuesday (March 7) a free event will take place at Glastonbury Town Hall, starting at 7.30pm with talks by Angus Lavery of the Oxfam shop in Glastonbury, and Amy Lawson of Street's Eco Friendly Shop. There will also be several stalls selling fairtrade produce.

While awareness activities and national campaigns such as Fairtrade Fortnight have become increasingly popular and encouraged more of us to swap our daily habits and make conscious choices that positively impact both the planet and people, for some those good intentions fizzle out after the high-profile event.

But Nub News sponsors, Co-Op have made it easy for shoppers to make simple swaps to Fairtrade products - 100% of their own-brand tea, coffee, bananas, cocoa, bagged sugar and African roses are Fairtrade, and they are also the world's largest seller of Fairtrade wine.

Here is a rundown of simple swaps that are sustainable because they are eco-friendly and sustainable because they are swaps that will last. 

Fairtrade Coffee

Fairtrade is much more than just a label - it's a way of making sure the people who are growing your food or making something you buy are paid fairly and treated well.

Did you know that Fairtrade coffee farmers invest at least 25 percent of their Fairtrade Premium in improving productivity and quality? Volatile international prices and the climate crisis are the biggest challenges facing coffee farmers. Choosing Fairtrade coffee ensures that you are helping those farmers create better environments for great-tasting coffee that gives back to the communities that grow the beans. 

Fairtrade Cocoa

There are more than 1.6 million farmers and workers in 1,411 producer organisations across the Fairtrade system that aim to ensure a set of standards are met in producing and supplying a product or ingredient. Products carrying the Fairtrade mark adhere to rigorous rules to protect workers and the environment. When it comes to chocolate, opting for fairtrade means you know that the farmers who produced the cocoa in it, received an additional Fairtrade Premium on top of the price of their crop which they can invest in their communities and use to fight the effects of climate change.

Fairtrade Wine

You may be used to spotting the distinctive Fairtrade logo on the products mentioned above, but it's a less familiar sight in the supermarket's wine aisle.

Yet buying Fairtrade is an easy swap to make in our weekly shop to improve the pay, working conditions, and rights of those who produce our wine in developing countries. Availability and quality have since improved and Co-op alone has sold over 50 million bottles of Fairtrade wine. Drinkers with a conscience can now take their pick from excellent examples of Carmenere, pinotage, chardonnay, and more.

Co-op make it easy as possible for you to buy Fairtrade. With Co-op stores in every postcode stocking a huge range of Fairtrade products, you can help make a difference and support international producers whenever you shop. 

Fairphone

And if none of the above are on your shopping list, you can always do your part by switching to the Fairphone. Everyone needs to communicate, why not communicate with a line that does well as well as sounds good? Discover more ways you can make an impact beyond your individual choices and opt to make a bigger difference as a company.

If you're ready to make the change to Fairtrade, these Glastonbury Establishment also offer Fairtrade Goods all year round:

• Abbey Tea Rooms 16 Magdalene St, Glastonbury,. BA6 9EH Tel. 01458 832852 Website: abbeytearooms.co.uk
• Art of Africa 15 High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DP Tel. 01458 835343
• Burns the Bread 14 High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DU Tel. 01458 831532 Website: burnsthebread.co.uk
• Coffee Zero 46 High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DU Tel. 01458 835505
• Co-op 32-34 High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DX Tel. 01458 831003
• Earth Fayre 45 High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DS Tel. 01458 831004 Website: earthfare.co.uk
• Fragrant Earth 5a High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DP Tel. 01458 897050 Website: fragrantearth.com
• Hundred Monkeys 52 High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DY Tel. 01458 833386 Website: hundredmonkeyscafe.com
• Lazy Gecko 8 Magdalene St, Glastonbury, BA6 9EH Tel. 01458 835624
• Mocha Berry 14 Market Place, Glastonbury, BA6 9HJ Tel. 01458 832149
• Morrisons Street Road, Glastonbury, BA6 9PA Tel. 01458 831087
• Oxfam 18 Market Place, Glastonbury, BA6 9PA
• Rainbow's End Café 17a High St, Glastonbury, BA6 9DP Tel. 01458 833896