Public Servant Lifestyle

New research released by the Fairtrade Foundation reveals that despite growing support for Fairtrade in the UK, only 17% of UK workers say their companies are currently serving Fairtrade products at work. Almost two out of five workers (38%) say they think their company should make products carrying the 'Fairtrade Mark' available to staff at work.

The YouGov survey was commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation to coincide with the launch of the organisation’s major Fairtrade at Work campaign, which is calling on workplaces to switch to offering Fairtrade products. These include: tea, coffee, fruit juice, sugar and biscuits served to employees in the staff canteen, in meetings or through corporate catering.

The campaign has been welcomed by pioneers of Fairtrade like Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) – the parent of the Co-operative Bank and Co-operative Insurance – which, since they inaugurated the office switch to Fairtrade products in 1997, have been challenging other top companies to follow their example.

“Co-operative Financial Services is proud to be the UK's largest workplace consumer of Fairtrade products and encourages all other organisations to support Fairtrade; there really can't be a more meaningful but simple demonstration of how business can be a force for good through its everyday purchasing,” says Barry Clavin, Ethical Policies Manager at CFS.

3.5 Million

The new Fairtrade at Work campaign has kickstarted with BT announcing a switch to Fairtrade coffee at BT Centre and several of their key sites across the country. The rest of the BT sites will follow on a roll out schedule which will mean 3.5 million cups of Fairtrade coffee being drunk annually on their premises. This move follows a growing number of companies and organisations – from Edinburgh Zoo to the Department for International Development (DfID) – which have previously made the switch.

Fairtrade started out with individuals choosing Fairtrade in their shopping for home consumption, but people are increasingly wanting Fairtrade throughout the day – at home, socially and in the workplace.

The Fairtrade at Work campaign is building on the example of some central government departments, local councils, voluntary organisations and companies - see list below - which have lead the way in using Fairtrade products. CFS pioneered the use of Fairtrade products and, with 10,000 employees and huge numbers of customers visiting its offices and bank branches, more that 4 million cups of Fairtrade beverages are now consumed on CFS premises annually. Since they first switched their vending machines to stocking Fairtrade coffee and tea, they have gradually changed over all their procurement so that now only Fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available to CFS employees and customers, through staff restaurants and vending machines.

Barry Clavin believes the YouGov results show what the Co-op already knows – that Fairtrade creates a feel-good factor among the staff and improves staff morale. “By demonstrating that we care about farmers in developing countries we reinforce the message that we care about our employees as well,” he says.

The YouGov survey asked respondents to put in order of importance a range of 10 initiatives that companies could do to improve their ethical and environmental sourcing and procurement habits. Whilst 45% put reducing carbon emissions at the top of their list, 38% made Fairtrade put Fairtrade closely behind, while among other results, 32% said their company should recycle or use recycled goods, and 19% said their employer should donate a percentage of company profits to charity.

Vending Machines

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “This campaign aims to see the availability of Fairtrade products in the workplace match that in the shops. Today over a third of our food and drink is consumed away from home and there is still enormous potential for more Fairtrade sales in that sector so more and more producers can benefit from Fairtrade. Any good company will want to respond to the mood of their employees and some top companies have set a model for many more to emulate. Switching to products carrying the Fairtrade Mark – everywhere from canteen or vending machine to the flowers at reception – is a meaningful way to make a real difference to the lives of farmers and workers in developing countries.”

The YouGov poll shows:

Women are more likely than men to say they would like their company to choose Fairtrade at work

Workers aged between 30 and 50 were most eager to support Fairtrade

People in Scotland are the most keen (66%) to say their company offers Fairtrade or should offer Fairtrade

82% of workplaces which offer Fairtrade provide Fairtrade coffee and 63% Fairtrade tea, whereas other products were used less often

The Fairtrade Foundation has built a dedicated microsite: www.fairtradeatwork.org.uk aimed at helping workplaces through the process of switching to Fairtrade. A cheeky viral video clip which plays on office humour has been created for viewers to pass onto their friends and colleagues. The Fairtrade message has traditionally been passed on by word of mouth and the viral video takes the traditional idea into a modern context. A fun coffee time Soduku game available from the site with Fairtrade product information will encourage staff to think while they drink their morning coffee. A leaflet targeted at companies called Make it your business to buy Fairtrade is also available to order from the microsite.

Make It Your Business

Fairtrade coffee farmer Gerardo Arias Camacho - representing the coffee farmers in the Llano Bonito Co-operative in Costa Rica said: “The Fairtrade price allows us to survive as coffee farmers. It covers our costs of production, let’s us send our kids to school, buy clothes and keep a roof over our heads”.

Currently 301 producer groups from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia are now benefiting from selling to the UK Fairtrade market. This is a 50% increase from 197 groups last year and is due to increased public demand for Fairtrade.

The organisations that have alreadt chosen ethically traded and sourced Fairtrade at work products include a number of high profile public sector bodies. The full list so far looks like this: KPMG, BT, Co-operative Financial Services, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), Arup, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for International Development (DfID), the Houses of Parliament, the London Borough of Camden, Edinburgh Zoo, The Salvation Army, Virgin Trains, The Wise Group, Business in the Community and the Training and Development Agency for Schools.

To find out more about the campaign - or for a full list of Fairtrade products - visit the Fairtrade at Work website.

Follow this link to download the Fairtrade at Work catering directory.

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