Fair Trade Companies Do Well

Some companies are faring very well under Fairtrade, for examnple, Kuapa Kokoo co-operative in Ghana which ploughs its profits into the cocoa growers communities.
Not only do they get Fairtrade prices and premiums for their cocoa, they also get a share of the proceeds from sales of the chocolate as well.
The company’s mission was to ensure that farmers are given access to the wealth they are involved in creating.
They get Fairtrade prices and premiums for their cocoa, and a share of the proceeds of selling the chocolate. They own 45% of the company, which is a cooperative of 45,000 farmers, so it is evident that sharing the wealth can work on a large scale.
Other companies take a different approach. On top of the Fairtrade minimum, Fair Instant gives 20p from each sale of its coffee to Save the Children, to assist the charity fund education projects in the coffee belt in Columbia .
This initiative has raised £250,000 in the past 18 months and has helped more than 1,000 school children with a range of requirements, from pens and paper through to uniforms.
In 2004, the Co-op became the first supermarket to sell only Fairtrade coffee. Since then it has expanded to selling chocolate and tea .
Sainsburys sells 25 Fairtrade teas and Marks and Spencers offers 42 Fairtrade coffe related products.
Fairtrade provides a great opportunity for socially driven business to forge ahead.
For the consumer, if puchasing a specific brand of product can provide developing world farmers with a better future, so be it.