A couple of nights ago, I was taken aback when I saw what appeared to be another new certification logo. In green and blue tones, this logo was emblazoned on the side of a bottle of wine that I was about to happily drink with a handful of my Slow Food friends. I am quite well versed in certification logos, but I had not seen this one before. Later that night, I turned to some tipsy Internet surfing to find the answer to my puzzlement and to my surprise, it turned out I was looking at the Fairtrade logo.

I recalled how, as recently as a couple of years ago, fair trade products were relegated to forgotten shelves in the hidden corners of grocery stores. It was yet another certification stamp that battled for consumer recognition. And now I saw it on a South African wine!

The practice of fair trade certification has an interesting history that began in 1988. The first certification scheme was called Max Havelaar, named after a character in a nineteenth-century Dutch novel who opposed the exploitation of coffee pickers in Dutch colonies. The first fair trade product was Mexican coffee that was sold in Denmark. A couple years later, a handful of other fair trade initiatives were spawned, including Fairtrade Foundation, TransFair and Rättvisemärkt, In 1997, recognizing their similar mandates, these organizations created the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO).

Fairtrade has gathered considerable momentum in recent years. There are currently 1.5 million Fairtrade producers and workers in 58 countries. You can buy Fairtrade bananas, cotton, citrus, flowers, grapes, nuts, sugar, rice, cocoa, pineapples, tea, and dried fruit. In 2007, Fairtrade certified sales worldwide topped 2.3 billion euros (or almost $3.1 billion US), and in the United Kingdom — as usual, well ahead of the curve — there were an estimated £700 million in sales of Fairtrade products in 2008.

Predictably, the market for fairly traded goods has gathered more momentum in Europe. With its consumer climate generally more receptive to “sustainability” issues, Fairtrade products have enjoyed respectable growth in the past decade. For instance, one-quarter of the bananas now sold in the UK are Fairtrade certified.

Farmers in turn have benefited from Fairtrade as the trading scheme has brought price stability to farmers otherwise selling into volatile commodity markets. For the Oromio Coffee Cooperative in Ethiopia, prices garnered through Fairtrade certification has enabled them to construct four elementary schools along with two health clinics and several coffee processing stations. Oromio’s indigenous farmers from the rainforest of south-west Ethiopia, growing coffee at altitudes of 1,500 to 2,000 metres, have thrived despite the fact globally coffee farmers’ earnings have dropped precipitously.

There were fears that the economic slowdown would negatively impact the fair trade movement, but two recent announcements indicate that it is not only here to stay, but also poised for continued impressive growth.

In March of this year, Cadbury committed to the Fairtrade certification of Cadbury Dairy Milk for the British and Irish markets. The move marks the first anniversary of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership (CCP), a historic initiative in which Cadbury is investing £45 million over the next ten years to assist in cocoa farming in Ghana, India, Indonesia, and the Caribbean.

Another recent announcement confirms that support for fair trade will continue to gain momentum. A couple of weeks ago, Fairtrade released its inaugural global consumer survey, which involved 14,500 people in 15 countries. It revealed that consumers expect companies to be more fair in dealing with producers in developing countries. I am reminded of a recent talk by the president of Greenbiz, who succinctly put, “Consumers want to shop green but don’t want to act. They want companies to act but don’t trust companies.” This paralyzing mindset is unlocked when an organization such as Fairtrade brings trust to the marketplace.

Here are some highlights from the Fairtrade survey:
· 75% of shoppers believe it is not enough for companies to do no harm, but that they should actively support community development in developing countries.
· 50% of the shoppers surveyed are now familiar with the Fairtrade label. Of these people, nine out of ten (91%) trust the label.
· 64% of all consumers believe that Fairtrade has strict standards.
· 72% believe independent certification is the best way to verify a product’s ethical claims.
Sales have responded accordingly. In 2008 (as compared to 2007), sales rose by 24% in Austria, by 40% in Denmark, by 57% in Finland, by 22% in France, by 75% in Sweden, by 43% in the UK, and by 10% in the US.

May 9th is World Fair Trade Day, a great day to reflect on the growing power of fair trade, its transformative impact, and the expanding opportunity to use your dollars to make a difference.

Sustainable Brands 09 (www.sustainablelifemedia.com) Lead Consultant for Junxion Strategy, Matt Strand is a guest blogger for the upcoming Sustainable Brands conference from May 31 to June 4, 2009 in Monterey, California. Matt will be posting thoughts about people, initiatives and developments in sustainability both in the Canada and the United States.

The Sustainable Brands Conference is the preeminent event for discussing the rapid rise of sustainability as a driver for revenue growth and brand equity in the 21st Century. SB'09 amplifies business success surrounding innovation for sustainability, and educates business leaders throughout an organization about how you can contribute to a more sustainable brand, and to grow the market for business solutions that help your company reduce its environmental impact and continue to play a positive role in the lives of your stakeholders.