NOW CLOSED: Do you buy Fairtrade products? Share your views (and hear about The Big Fair Bake) – and you could win a fab Baking Goodie Bag worth £100

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by The Fairtrade Foundation to find out your thoughts on why Fairtrade products aren't bought by more people and also to encourage you to get involved in the Big Fair Bake.

Add your thoughts below - or share how you're getting involved (including who (person, group etc) you'd love to bake for) for a chance to win a lovely Baking Goodie Bag (worth £100).

The Fairtrade Foundation say "we think baking tastes better when you share it, so we want The Big Fair Bake to inspire the nation to bake for others. It's as simple as buying a few Fairtrade ingredients, popping on your pinny or rolling up your sleeves and baking up a treat - not just for friends, family, colleagues, but also the farming communities in developing countries who grew the ingredients".

"Baking with Fairtrade ingredients is one easy way for everyone to make a difference to millions of people who desperately need a better deal from trade. Without a fair price for the crops they grow, many farmers struggle to support their families. Fairtrade offers farmers and workers the safety net of a fair price today and a little extra to invest in projects which benefit the whole community, such as clean water, education and health care".

"The good news is that sales of Fairtrade products have reached £1.3 billion in the UK, however this still only accounts for 3% of all our food and drink purchases"

The Fairtrade Foundation would love to know your thoughts on what would make you bake with more Fairtrade ingredients? How can they encourage others to do so too?

Let us know what you think and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a fantastic Bake Goodie Bag, packed with £100 worth of Tala baking equipment, Fairtrade baking ingredients (including cocoa, vanilla, nuts, chocolate and dried fruit), cake decorations and complementary Fairtrade products to enjoy with your cakes, including tea and coffee.

You can find out more about The Big Fair Bake here.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

[Hummymummy]

I see more fairtrade products in the shops these days and have even found a few competitive on price recently. I'm sorry to say but it does come down to price really and I think lots of people still perceive them to be more expensive.

What can be done? More promotions and stands in supermarkets reminding people what it's all about.

[rufus5]

I would love to buy FairTrade much more often, but I just can't afford to. It's down to affordability, and unfortunately in a like-for-like comparison the FairTrade products are rarely the same price as non-FairTrade products, so unfortunately my frightenly limited budget makes the decision for me.

[thefudgeling]

A good way to get more people buying fairtrade would be to have more deals with big brands, like the one with cadburys, or supermarkets, like the great chocolate and tea bags at Lidl, which are affordable and fairtrade, so that people are buying it without having to think or change their habits (or budgets) too much! Also, I think getting children and schools interested in the growers and farmers overseas will get the next generation thinking about what they buy a bit more.

I buy fairtrade when I can, but times are tough and I've cut down on the fairtrade items I buy, and how often I buy them.

[TodaysAGoodDay]

I buy Fairtrade stuff which will last a long time, and is similarly priced to the 'normal' stuff, like coffee or tea. Unfortunately for a lot of people at the moment, every single penny does count.

[thefudgeling]

Interesting info from nutella above about Nestle - did not know they were claiming fairtrade status.

[cherryjellow]

I really like the idea especially with backing being such a popular thing to do right now.
Whenever I think of buying fairtrade I only think of bananas and co-op chocolate, so I will have a look out for baking things.
When it comes to fair trade, for me, it always comes down to price. If its roughly the same or cheaper to buy fairtrade I will do it.

[cherryjellow]

• sorry baking!

[SecretNutellaFix]

on kitkats and some coffee I believe.

[DownyEmerald]

Our usual shop is Sainsbury's which is great on some things - fairtrade bananas, basic tea bags (I always bought fairtrade tea bags before, but recent convert to the basic), their sugar, did buy coffee but dp (who is the coffee drinker) has changed to the stuff in bags, trying to think whatelse....clothes sometimes.

I am more likely to want to spend extra on fair trade than on organic. To me it is really important that the people in developing countries who produce these things are treated with respect and as fellow human beings. And paying a fair price is a way to do that. Especially as climate change makes growing conditions more difficult.

To bake with fairtrade; more availability of ingredients, basically. Perhaps a little fair trade section in the baking aisle to high light it. DD is 6 so it's about time I started telling her what the fair trade label means.

[bubby64]

To be honest, at the moment, I only buy a few fairtrade products, bananas, sugar, I might buy some that I didn't know were fairtrade, but family finances at present mean that I have to look at best value rather than fairtrade.

[weegiemum]

I do worry about the image!

Especially Rainforest Alliance !!!

So awfully NOT fair trade!!

[Tigerbomb]

I rarely buy fairtrade - mainly because of cost. If I do have a few pennies spare, I buy local produce, I like to think that we should look after our own home produced food too.

All the free drinks vending machines at work are fair trade as is some of the food in the staff canteen and I know that this has meant htat I will buy FT chocolate or bananas but not the tea or coffee - it's awful

Perhaps if more firms did this it would give more people a chanc eto try before they buy so to speak

[zipzap]

In an ideal world everything would be fairtrade by default, not an extra option to add into the mix when choosing a product. It's nice in places like waitrose and sainsburys that all their bananas are fairtrade so it's easy to pick them up - but if they can do it for bananas then why not everything else?

Other products - generic things like sugar - if there was a fairtrade option there and it was within the same sort of price bounds as the others then I would buy it. Other things such as coffee - where individual taste comes into play - the coffee that dh likes isn't fair trade I don't think, he has tried some fair trade stuff but doesn't like the taste as much as the brand he currently buys so taste has won over fairtrade, regardless of price. if I am buying a jar of coffee or some tea bags that are general 'making for visitors' ones (I don't drink the stuff myself) then I'll try to pick up a fairtrade one.

[DorothyGherkins]

I tend to buy what I think looks good value, or things I enjoy, or things I can afford - the fairtrade mark is a bonus in my books. So many things that are fairtrade are not in the affordable bracket, so I can only buy what I can afford. If I had more disposable income, then I could probably afford to be more principled, but there is only so much money to buy food for the whole week - buying fairtrade would mean sacrificing something else. I feel that its good that so many bananas tea and coffee are affordable and come with the fairtrade label - it seems such a shame that all commodities cant be taken for granted to be fairtrade. When fairtrade and organic mean they are the same price as other stuff available, that is when I shall buy it as a matter of course.

[aristocat]

I agree that some Fairtrade items are not always much more expensive and I do try to buy them as often as possible.
If I could afford it I'd buy everything Fairtrade - sadly my budget wont allow it. However I do buy locally produced meats, vegetables and other produce so my local area gets to benefit which is important too.

My DD will be baking cakes for her Brownie pack soon and after seeing this thread, we have decided to make them FairTrade and she can explain to the other girls what Fairtrade means and how it will affect them. Just need to check with her Brown Owl but I am sure it will be fine.

[lionheart]

I try to buy fair trade if I can and would prioritise fair trade over organic.

Really please to see Cadbury and other big companies taking this on board.

The school is also doing its best to get the children talking about fair trade and I think that's great.

[renaldo]

I buy fair trade at church when I see the stall- but as I do all my shopping online otherwise I tend to forget about fairtrade ,

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

Same old story here with regard to economics. I buy fairtrade if it also works out economical to do so but it comes down to cost. I have cut out lots of the branded products I buy these days and tend to buy the cheapest. I do choose fairtrade when it is also good value.

[stealthsquiggle]

Like most other people, I buy on a (varying) combination of quality and price. Fairtrade is a "nice to have" which would influence my decision between two otherwise comparable (on price and quality) products, but it's not something I seek out.

TBH I am a little sceptical of the reality behind the branding - I have not done the research to reassure myself that they are really delivering what is implied. However, I too think that they would be better focusing on working with big manufacturers and retailers than trying to generate more consumer "pull".

[badger01]

I buy fairtrade wherever I can but the overiding decision process is cost cost cost. If it is cheaper to buy regular food that is cheaper than fairtrade then I'm sure I'm not alone in saying families have to opt for the cheapest option.

[craftynclothy]

We buy a few fairtrade items. Bananas are one that we buy weekly. Often coffee is fairtrade. Other than that it usually boils down to cost. If there's very little difference in price then I buy the organic/fairtrade type of option but if it's quite a difference then it comes down to the cheaper version as we just couldn't afford to do that for everything we buy.

[MothershipG]

When I worked full-time and didn't have kids I would routinely buy fair-trade, now I only work part-time, have 2 extra mouths to feed and with DH's wages not increasing with inflation I just can't afford to any more. So I do where the price difference isn't too great but not with things like coffee where it's a big difference.

[MrsHoarder]

For most baking ingredients I go straight for the supermarket own brand for price reasons. And dsepite living in a "fair trade village" there's little in the way of fairtrade chocolate etc in the local shops.

[Jojoba1986]

I'd love to be able to afford fairtrade & support the farmers etc but if I did that regularly I'd struggle to support my own family! It's all about the money I'm afraid!

[MTBMummy]

I try to buy fairtrade, but when it gets to the end of the month I often go for the cheapest range in store.

I do feel better when I use fair trade (except for the coffee, which gives me an awful headache) but if it's fair trade or affording to feed the family - the latter always comes first.