Ethiopian kids at school funded by Fairtrade premium.Fairtrade Label South Africa (FLSA) is excited to announce that we will be hosting our first ever Fairtrade Week in South Africa. Running from the 14th-20th November 2011, Fairtrade Week is a national campaign aimed at increasing consumer awareness around Fairtrade.

The campaign’s theme - ‘Taste the Change’ - encourages everyone to learn how Fairtrade is transforming the way to do business in South Africa and Africa, how it creates positive change in farming communities and in the way consumers engage with the product.

“We are thrilled at the phenomenal growth that Fairtrade certified goods have experienced in the South African market recently and we hope that Fairtrade Week will further encourage local consumers to join the change” says Fairtrade Label Executive Director Boudewijn Goossens. He continues, “We expect to see Fairtrade growing even more in the next year, especially thanks to the exciting new commercial partners that are joining Fairtrade”.

Fairtrade sales in South Africa reached a staggering R18,4 million in 2010, a three-fold increase from 2009. Sales are expected to boom in the next quarter thanks to the introduction of Kraft Foods Cadbury Dairy Milk [plain] Fairtrade chocolate slabs which are expected to officially hit local stores during Fairtrade Week. With 40,000 Cadbury Dairy Milk [plain] slabs sold every day, this is a huge achievement for the

Fairtrade movement in South Africa as consumers will now be able to find a Fairtrade certified product in virtually every shop in the country.
Fairtrade is the most trusted ethical certification system in the world. Fairtrade standards aim to tackle poverty and empower farming communities by ensuring better working and living conditions and providing them with additional income, the Fairtrade Premium, to invest in education, training and improvement of local infrastructure. In addition, Fairtrade certified farms have to implement environmentally friendly practices in order to ensure production is sustainable. There are currently over 230 Fairtrade certified producer organisations in Africa, over 60 of them in South Africa.

Fairtrade Label South Africa (FLSA)) is the local marketing organisation for Fairtrade and aims to alleviate rural poverty and to empower small-scale farmers and disadvantaged workers primarily in Africa by creating market opportunities for and increasing sales of Fairtrade labelled products in South Africa.

The complete list of Fairtrade Week activities, which include media appearings, competitions and launches of new products, will be disclosed closer to the time.
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facebook @ www.facebook.com/FairtradeSA to learn new and interesting Fairtrade related facts and updates.

For more info please visit on www.fairtradesa.org.za.
For more information please contact: Arianna Baldo, Marketing and Business Development Coordinator, Fairtrade Label South Africa, 021 4488911, arianna@fairtrade.org.za