It’s over now, but what a fantastic thing it was to see so much going on this year! Who would have dreamt, 10 or even 5 years ago, that a whole market could be devoted to Fair Trade products? If you missed the market in Parliament Street, don’t miss it next year!

Britain is at the top of the Fair Trade league in Europe, with more people aware of what Fair Trade means than in any other country. We have more Fair Trade organisations, more Fair Trade products and more people earning their living from Fair Trade than anywhere else in the developed world. We’re streaks ahead of the USA and Japan.

We can be rightly proud of this achievement. It was in 1994 that a supermarket, Sainsburys, took its first Fair Trade product. Now, the Fairtrade mark is common on supermarket shelves, and is recognised by 75% of the public.

Sainsburys and the Co-op in particular have led the way – Sainsburys’ bold step in making all its bananas Fair Trade proved successful, now all of its own-brand tea has the Fairtrade Mark, and who knows what will follow?

I noticed a big display of children’s paintings on Fair Trade in Sainsburys Monkgate branch last week, I believe they’re not just trying to make money by latching on to a popular trend,  they’re helping to lead it in a responsible way. Fair Trade is improving countless lives in developing countries. It means shops buying ethically, not just going for the lowest price, using child labour and so on. It’s clearly working for supermarkets like Sainsburys and the Co-op who take it on board.

Are the other supermarkets learning the lesson? I say – buy from small local shops if you can. And if you’re buying from supermarkets, don’t just shop where you think you’ll get the best price – support Fair Trade!

Jeremy Piercy

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