‘Fairtrade’ may be more familiar to UK audiences – it’s the term that can be applied to products that are certified by the Fairtrade Foundation according to international Fairtrade standards. Fairtrade standards are vital – they ensure safe working conditions, good environmental practices, contracts that honour producers’ work, and both a minimum price and a premium, set for each product.

Most Fairtrade products relate to things we eat or drink – from the familiar tea, coffee, bananas and chocolate to the less familiar but well-worth trying dried fruits, pulses, nuts and rice. Fairtrade isn’t just about food, though: there are also Fairtrade standards for flowers, gold, and cotton.

Fairtrade certification applies to products, not to companies.

‘Fair Trade’ (two words, both capitalised) is used for products that come from Fair Trade Organizations, which are certified by the World Fair Trade Organization. These organisations are dedicated to Fair Trade – and everything they produce meets Fair Trade standards. Some of the most familiar to a UK audience would be People Tree and

We also sometimes use Fair Trade to refer to goods that come from organisations that are members of BAFTS, the British Association of Fair Trade Shops.  The members of BAFTS distribute and sell these goods because they believe them to be authentically in the spirit of Fair Trade, even if they are not necessarily from organisations that are certified by the WFTO.

What about ‘fair trade’ and ‘fairly traded’? These are terms that don’t have any official meaning, so they are defined simply by the companies that use them.