tea farmers

The People Behind the Products

Fairtrade ensures better prices, good working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.

Fairtrade companies pay sustainable prices (meaning they never fall lower than the market price) to ensure that producers are able to improve their positions and have more control over their lives.

We have outlined some of our favourite Fairtrade brands and the people behind their products.

Divine Chocolate

Divine Chocolate was established in 1998 by a cooperative of cocoa farmers in Ghana that co-owns the company and has a share in its profits. This was the first farmer-owned Fairtrade chocolate company aimed at the mass market in the UK.

The story of Divine Chocolate started back in 1993 with the birth of Kuapa Kokoo, a pioneering cocoa farmers’ cooperative in Ghana. In 1997, the cooperative made the bold move into the UK chocolate industry and The Day Chocolate Company was launched.

The Day Chocolate Company’s mission was to bring a delicious Fairtrade chocolate alternative to as many chocolate lovers as possible. Additionally, they wanted to raise awareness of the need for fairer trade with developing countries and grow a market to ensure more cocoa is bought at a Fairtrade price. From this, they created the brand Divine Chocolate. In 2007, The Day Chocolate Company changed its name to Divine Chocolate Ltd to reinforce the strong brand that they had created.

Today Divine Chocolate’s socially and economically sustainable business model supports the needs of farmers first and provides opportunities for growth and success in local communities.

View our range of Divine Chocolate here

Zaytoun

Zaytoun are a UK brand of ethically sourced Palestinian fine foods with 100% of their profits being reinvested into their mission. Zaytoun was founded in 2004 to support the resilience and livelihoods of Palestinian farmers under occupation through fairly trading their olive oil.

It was initially funded by hundreds of customers who put up payments in advance of receiving their olive oil. Through this, Zaytoun was able to quickly establish itself as a UK social enterprise.

With funding provided by Triodos Bank, Zaytoun developed further to offer a wide range of Palestinian artisan foods. The funding helped to support the Palestinian farmers to pioneer the world’s first Fairtrade certified olive oil in 2009 sold through the UK market.

As well as this, Zaytoun run two trips a year for its customers to visit Palestine and learn more about life for a farming family there. They also bring their producers to the UK once a year for Fairtrade Fortnight to help spread awareness.

Zaytoun are passionate about supporting the relationship between its Palestinian producer communities and growing a network of passionate, discerning customers in the UK and Ireland.

View our range of Zaytoun products here

Shared Earth

Shared Earth work with over 30 producers from around the world to bring you fairly traded and ethical products. Their mission is to improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged people in developing countries, benefitting local community projects and keeping alive traditional skills that may otherwise be lost.

Shared Earth began as a small shop in York which opened in 1986. It now has seven shops to its name. Jeremy Piercy the founder and managing director of Shared Earth, travelled to India after leaving school and wanted to do something to balance the wealth in the world, work together with people from different cultures and at the same time earn a living. To Jeremy setting up a business surrounding Fairtrade was the perfect option to achieve this.

Shared Earth has a number of aims which includes paying fair prices for the products they buy, they always offer 50% payment upfront to overseas producers, ensure working conditions are acceptable, provide advice on design and product development, support supplier and local communities, avoid child labour and commit to long term relationships with their suppliers.

Shared Earth’s Fairtrade rainbow ceramics are made by expert artisans and are hand painted with care in Thailand. For 20 years the factory has provided jobs for those in the community who are at a disadvantage and whom it is difficult to find work.

English Tea Shop

tea farmers

English Tea Shop work with only the finest organic and Fairtrade farmers, blenders and producers from all over the world. They take great care over everyone in their supply chain from pickers to packers, to blenders and drinkers. Not only that, English Tea Shop are passionate about small farming, organic, Fairtrade and sustainable business. All their tea is blended at their own factory in Sri Lanka.

English Tea Shop source the best trees from the best farms in the world in the heart of Sri Lanka. Additionally, all their tea is handpacked, reducing their carbon footprint. They also have certifications from the Soil Association and Fairtrade International.

Their teas and ingredients come from small farmers in limited quantities and are grown without chemical fertilisers or pesticides. English Tea Shop recognise that small farmers make a huge impact on sustaining our planet’s natural ecosystem for many generations after us. They pay their farmers a premium on top of the Fairtrade price to make sure they can farm in the most sustainable way possible. English Tea Shop also take measures to uplift the wellbeing of farmers and their families. Within their Sri Lanka factory they have an in-house training programme to elevate the lives of their employees.

View our range of English Tea Shop products here

Cafedirect

Cafedirect are the UK’s first and largest Fairtrade hot drinks brand. Unlike any other coffee company, Cafedirect invest 50% of their profits into Producers Direct. Producers Direct is a UK charity that works directly with farmers to improve sustainability and livelihoods across the growing world. Cafedirect is also the first UK B-Corporation certified coffee company.

It is a charity run by farmers, for farmers, taking leadership and developing innovative solutions to the challenges they face. This direct relationship enables Cafédirect to provide consumers with great tasting, high quality drinks that are consistently being improved.

Cafedirect believe in their growers as they are truly experts in their field. For their growers, Cafedirect organise training and education and information services for their farmers so that they continuously improve their crops. They also support in the diversifying of crops and provide their farmers with advice on bookkeeping and other financial matters.

A great example of this is Cafedirect’s new Mayan Gold coffee. The Mayan Gold coffee is purchased from the cooperative, Ejidos San Fernando. The cooperative was founded in 1984 and has grown from 17 farmers to a thriving community of 1,300 with a 40% female membership. The cooperative practices sustainable agricultural techniques and uses natural organic inputs which create the perfect conditions for creating a speciality quality coffee and they have positioned themselves as leading specialists in growing organic coffee.

View our range of Cafedirect products here

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