Labelling fair trade products

In 1989, the Netherlands became the first country to launch the Fairtrade consumer guarantee. This has developed to labelling initiatives in 17 countries, mainly throughout Europe and North America, and the product range now includes coffee, drinking chocolate, chocolate bars, orange juice, tea, honey, sugar and bananas.

For certain products (coffee, tea, cocoa, honey, bananas) criteria for labelling with the UK Fairtrade Mark are set and monitored by the Fairtrade Foundation. Fairtrade Mark criteria relate to the payment of minimum and/or premium prices, workers' representation, employment conditions and welfare, purchase conditions for the product (including stable trading relationships), health and safety, and the environment.