Next Monday sees the start of the eight annual Fairtrade Fortnight. which aim s to raide consumer awareness in the UK. To focus on the event Fairtrade nut brand Liberation has put together a list of ten things you might not know about Fairtrade The first certified Fairtrade product May Gold chocolate from Green & Blacks wa launched in the UK in 1994 by the Fairtrade Foundation. Today more than 2,500 Fairtrade products are sold in the UK People used to think Fairtrade meant coffee tea, chocolate and bananas but now there ar products as diverse as mulled wine, Brazil nut oil, peppermint infusions, ruby red grapefrui and even Fairtrade certified boxer shorts The beginnings of fair trade in the UK can b traced to the late 1950s, when Oxford-based charity Oxfam started to sell crafts made b y Chinese refugees in their shop s Among the 20 countries that participate in Fairtrade the UK is the largest market per hea of population.

Families and wider communities also benefi from the increased price and premium whic comes with Fairtrade. In total across the developing world it is estimated that seven million people - farmers, workers and thei r families - now benefit from Fairtrade There is a special group of Fairtrade companies which not only guarantees a fai r price to producers and growers. but also give s producers a chance to own a share of the company. The producers of Liberation nuts own 42 per cent of the company. Its siste companies include Cafédirect, Divine Chocolat and Fairtrade fruit specialists AgroFair UK Liberation works with more than 22,000 farmers and collectors via a series of loca co-operatives and farming organisations. Thes are in Africa, Asia and Latin America and thei r representatives work together as a group called the 'International Nut Co-operative , sharing information and experience to play their part in building Liberation.

Buying Fairtrade Brazil nuts helps to sav precious trees in the Amazonian rainforest, a s many governing organisations in Latin America will prevent the destruction of the rainforest while indigenous people are still gathering the nuts They will continue to gather these nuts as long as they are being paid a fair pric By buying Fairtrade peanuts your contribution to Fairtrade premiums are helping to creat shelters for hundreds of people in Mchinji , Malawi, who have travelled long distances t take care of and be close to their loved ones in the local hospital but have nowhere to stay. Thi s means they can sleep and cook under cove r Fairtrade premiums paid to nut farmers ar increasing year on year, expanding opportunitie s to apply this money to projects such as clea drinking water, health and education which, in turn. promote the wellbeing of the farmers, thei r families and communities