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We're in the second week of Fairtrade Fortnight and since it's all about creating awareness of all things Fairtrade, we thought we would share with you the five most unusual Fairtrade products we've come across.
Sunflowers by post
If Fairtrade Kenyan roses are not appropriate for the situation, check out the Fairtrade Sunflowers by Post from John Lewis. For £23 you get 20 mini sunflowers and you can have them delivered by courier right to the door of the lucky recipient.
Brown Sugar Shower Gel
Urtekram, the company who gave us the first-ever Fairtrade certified body care product, a brown sugar scrub, has now added the Brown Sugar Shower Gel to its range. The shower gel not only sports the Fairtrade Mark, but also the Ecocert and Leaping Bunny labels.
Dutch banknotes
In The Hague in July 2007, the Dutch NGO Solidaridad celebrated the outcome of a three-year fair cotton campaign: the launch of the first €10 banknotes made with 31 tonnes of certified Fairtrade cotton, which is used to improve the strength and quality of banknotes. By agreeing to trial the Fairtrade cotton notes, the Dutch Minister of Finance and the president of the Dutch National Bank set the standard for the rest of Europe.
Papagayo Fairtrade and Organic Golden Rum
We tasted this rum at Biofach a couple of weeks ago and got quite excited as it's the world's first organic and Fairtrade rum, carrying both the Soil Association stamp and the Fairtrade Mark. The rum is produced in Paraguay and shipped to the UK where it's put in 70 per cent recycled bottles. Cheers.
Rugby balls
Fair Deal Trading makes Fairtrade-certified sports balls, and its full-sized rugby balls are mainly made from rubber from South India, where the rubber tappers work according to Fairtrade standards. The stitching centre is also Fairtrade-approved and Fair Deal Trading voluntarily pays the stitchers up to 50 per cent more than required by the FLO standards.
What weird and wonderful Fairtrade products have you stumbled across? Let us know in the comments.
04 March 2008 04:00pm
At the moment the rum is only available at Asda, but Alex Parker from the Organic Spirits Company says it'll soon be available at independent retailers across the country -- including online retailer www.vintageroots.co.uk.
04 March 2008 06:29pm
Fairtrade as the perfect name. And I like them - and I consume their products. But I have a few issues with them. They are not as perfect as their name implies. For instance, they do not work with the poorest of the poor, but only those organized in cooperatives. And farmers do not get the Fairtrade price, only a part of it and the rest goes to the cooperative. Don?t forget, farmers pay Fairtrade to be certified. More on my blog. But the quicker they come clean, the quicker we can address their reason for existence ? making the world a better place. More on My Beef with Fairtrade at angryafrican.wordpress.com/2008/02/21/my-beef-with-fairtrade/
04 March 2008 11:59pm
HINT for Mr knit1foryou - Mrs knit1foryou really really really likes the sunflowers!
17 March 2008 12:52pm
Fairtrade sunflowers - what a great idea. And sent right to your door - now there's no excuse boys, this couldn't be easier!
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