Fairtrade is a response to poverty around the world.

It began in small groups, in the nineteenth century informally, by Dutch people, Quakers and over time they made small inroads into fighting poverty.

In 1969, the Dutch started a label to encourage people to buy goods grown by farmers in the third world.

In 1979, the British churches combined and founded Traidcraft in a warehouse in Newcastle which was their response to buying only goods made and produced by people in the third world.

It was a trading company and a development charity. It was a founder member of Fairtrade. But, of course, now people from all walks of life are involved.

The formal Fairtrade label was designed in the 1980s. 

We encourage farmers in the third world who grow the crops that we cannot such as tea, coffee, bananas.

They form co-operatives so they can become stronger and do business, trading their goods and we in Fairtrade help them to do this as does the Co-op which was inspired by their use of co-operatives.

We support them with money and special payments called premiums which pay for things like toilets or schools.