Held from 6 to 19 of August, Fairtrade Fortnight is an annual campaign by Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand designed to raise awareness, celebrate, and promote Fairtrade products.

Part of this campaign sees retailers and producers given the chance to promote their positive impact and show their customers what their brand stands for. By highlighting their Fairtrade certification, they are displaying leadership in sustainability.

Fairtrade has supplied a digital toolkit which provides information and content to be shared across social media and digital platforms.

The campaign’s emphasis is to “choose the world you want”, where women are respected, where the environment is cared for, and where everyone is treated kindly.

One aspect of this is tackling gender inequality. While 60 to 80 per cent of global food is grown by women, less than a quarter of them own these farms.

The woman that do are limited in access to resources and information, as compared with their male counterparts. According to Fairtrade, studies have found that when woman owners are given equal opportunity to resources, farm production increases by 20 to 30 per cent.

Fairtrade has developed a variety of systems to encourage female participation, decision making, and empowerment, ensuring that Fairtrade woman farmers are paid equally and given a voice.

In Cote D’Ivoire, Fairtrade developed the Women’s School of Leadership for female cocoa farmers in 2017. Since then, this school has expanded to El Salvador, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, and India.

A study conducted by Fairtrade in December 2020 investigated how women benefited from Fairtrade certification, from equal employment opportunities to women-focused programs and greater market access at decent prices.

Elizabeth from Kabngetuny Coffee Cooperative, Kenya, says, ‘If a woman is empowered, then the house will also be empowered, economically and socially.’

Fairtrade certified products pay its farmers a Fairtrade minimum price which is designed to cover the cost of production, or at market price when it is higher. Fairtrade also pays premiums for organically grown products which is given to the coop to be democratically decided how it is spent, be it improving social, economic, or environmental conditions.

By supporting Fairtrade and promoting Fairtrade Fortnight, individuals can make a positive impact across the supply chain, and for woman across the globe.

For more information, please click here.