Once an ethical mark found only on the odd jar of coffee or in Oxfam shops, the Fairtrade movement has experienced a surge in popularity to hit sales of almost £500m. Twice as many Fairtrade products were sold in 2007 as in the previous year, rising in value by 81 per cent -- double the trend for the past decade.
The movement to help poor farmers abroad, confined to only a few sectors in 2000, is now starting to have a "significant" impact on commerce, according to the Fairtrade Foundation, which released the statistics to mark Fairtrade Fortnight, which starts today.
