Fairtrade at your local FoodCoop
From your morning cuppa to the bananas in your fruit bowl, you'll find Fairtrade products in your local FoodCoop store. When you choose them, the people who grow them get a fair deal. We've supported Fairtrade for more than 25 years. We champion Fairtrade, Malawi and cruelty-free products across our own-brand range.
What is Fairtrade?
Fairtrade is a certification scheme that makes sure the farmers and workers who grow our food are paid fairly, treated well and have a safe place to work.
It works in two ways. Fairtrade farmers are paid at least the Fairtrade Minimum Price for their crop, which gives them a safety net when market prices fall. They also receive the Fairtrade Premium, an extra sum of money paid on top of the price.
Farmers and workers decide together how to spend the Premium. It has paid for schools, healthcare, better farming equipment and funds to recover from extreme weather.
What do the Fairtrade Marks mean?
A Fairtrade Mark on a product shows that some or all of its ingredients were bought on Fairtrade terms.
There are three marks to look out for:
All That Can Be (ATCB)
The original FAIRTRADE Mark means that all ingredients that can be Fairtrade are Fairtrade, and those ingredients are fully traceable (kept separate from non-certified products) from farm to shelf. You see this Mark on single-ingredient products, such as FoodCoop bananas and coffee.
All That Can Be (ATCB) Mass Balance
The FAIRTRADE Mark with an arrow is used on single-ingredient products that have been sourced using “Mass Balance.” This means 100% of the volume of ingredients that can be Fairtrade are purchased as Fairtrade, but they may be mixed with non-Fairtrade ingredients at some point in the supply chain. The amount sold by FoodCoop as Fairtrade must match the amount purchased. This way, the farmers and workers receive the full benefits of selling that amount of product on Fairtrade terms.
Fairtrade Sourced Ingredient (FSI)
This Mark shows the commitment to source a particular ingredient as Fairtrade. Farmers for the labelled ingredient still receive all the benefits of Fairtrade as with the ATCB Mark, including the protection of the Fairtrade Minimum Price and the Fairtrade Premium to choose how to invest in their community. OurCoop was also the first to sign up to the new International Fairtrade Sourcing Ingredients model for flowers, back in 2018.
Our Fairtrade journey
Since the Fairtrade movement began in the UK, we've been proud to play our part in helping grow demand for Fairtrade products and supporting farming communities around the world. From launching our own-brand Fairtrade chocolate and becoming the first retailer to sell 100% Fairtrade coffee, to introducing Fairtrade flowers, wine and bananas, our commitment has been built on the belief that trade can be a force for good. Take a look back at some of the milestone moments that have shaped our Fairtrade journey over the past three decades.
Fairtrade favourites in store
Here are some of the Fairtrade products you'll find in your local FoodCoop store, and what choosing them means for the people who grow them.
Fairtrade Tea
Fairtrade tea supports growers in countries including Kenya and Malawi. In Africa, the average small-scale tea farm is less than half the size of a football pitch, so a fair price makes a real difference. All our own-brand tea has been Fairtrade for over 10 years.
Our Malawi Partnership
Fairtrade Coffee
Fairtrade started with coffee, after world coffee prices collapsed in the late 1980s. Prices still rise and fall sharply from year to year, and the Fairtrade Minimum Price gives coffee farmers a safety net when they drop.
Find out more
Fairtrade Bananas
Banana farmers at Las Mercedes, a co-operative in the Dominican Republic, used their Fairtrade Premium to set up a disaster recovery fund. When storms damage their farms, members can draw on it to replant and repair. They're also planting trees along the riverbanks to protect their land from future flooding.
Fairtrade bananas
Fairtrade Chocolate
In Honduras, Fairtrade cocoa farmers used their Premium to help build the Xol chocolate factory. It's managed and run by young women, giving them decision-making roles in an area where that's not always the case.
Fairtrade cocoa
Fairtrade Sugar
Many sugar cane farmers depend on a local mill to buy their crop, and the mill sets the price. In Belize, Fairtrade farmers invested their Premium in better farming and raised their productivity by 21%. Fairtrade sugar is now the only type of sugar on our shelves.
Find out more
Fairtrade Wine
We're very proud to be the world's leading retailer when it comes to Fairtrade wine. In 2022, all South African wine on our shelves, across branded and own-label, became Fairtrade, another industry first.
Fairtrade Flowers
All OurCoop bunches and single-stem roses have now been Fairtrade for more than ten years. Fairtrade flower farms receive a Premium of 10% on every stem sold. Workers invest it in healthcare and education.
Fairtrade Charcoal
Our partnership with Traidcraft means we support burners and workers in Namibia with our Fairtrade charcoal and BBQ set sales.
Improving lives. Real stories. Real impact
People are at the heart of Fairtrade. With almost two million farmers and workers in more than 71 countries forming part of the Fairtrade system, each one has a story to tell.
From building schools in Colombia, to installing clean water taps in Kenya, and preserving forests in India, farmers and workers are driving change in their communities with support from Fairtrade.
How you can make a difference
Choose change and make a difference in three easy steps:
- Choose Fairtrade: Look for the Fairtrade Mark when you shop.
- Cook with Fairtrade Ingredients: Swap in Fairtrade sugar, cocoa or bananas when you cook and bake.
- Use Your Voice: Share why you choose Fairtrade using #ChooseFairtrade and #FairtradeFortnight.
Brew it Fair
Tea is more than just Britain's favourite drink. It's a daily ritual that unites millions across the country.
But behind every cup lies an unfair global trading system where the people who grow and pick our tea face low wages, poor conditions, and an unequal share of power.
Fairtrade's Brew it Fair campaign calls on UK consumers, businesses, and the government to act now. Together, we can work alongside tea growers and pickers to raise low tea prices, increase pay and demand human rights for the people behind the tea we drink.
Cook with Fairtrade
From shortbread to banana bread, try one of our favourite recipes made with Fairtrade ingredients.
More places to buy certified products
- World Fair Trade Organisation: WFTO verifies social enterprises that fully practise Fair Trade. Many have online shops.
- Traidcraft: certified homeware, fashion, gifts, food and drinks sourced directly from growers and artisans.
- Oxfam: the Sourced by Oxfam range of certified, ethical and sustainable food, gifts and homeware.
- BAFTS: a directory of Fairtrade shops and social enterprises across the UK.
- Kool Skools: ethical school clothing and Fairtrade cotton uniforms.
- People Tree: 100% Fairtrade certified organic cotton clothing.
- Bala Sport: a co-operative making ethically produced Fairtrade sports balls in Sialkot, Pakistan.
- Fair Squared: cosmetics and healthcare products that are Fairtrade, vegan and organic.
- Ingle & Rhode: jewellery made with certified Fairtrade gold.
- Honeystreet Handmade: Fairtrade beauty products.
More about where your food comes from
Fairtrade is one part of how we choose what goes on our shelves. All our fresh meat is 100% British, and our eggs are always free-range.