Fairtrade Fortnight begins

Martin writes: Yesterday I attended the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight on the South Bank. It was great to taste all the Fairtrade products, hear from producers from developing countries on why Fairtrade matters to them, and watch young people, local residents and tourists alike learn about Fairtrade. The Co-op had a big presence, as the leading high street supporter of Fairtrade, with our hard-working staff handing out smoothies and signing up new members. Brad Hill, the Co-operative Group's Fairtrade Manager, spoke about the Co-op's ongoing commitment to the movement and some exciting new product launches.

Today one of those product launches took place in North London, with Mike Foster MP, an International Development minister, on hand to promote the first-ever Fairtrade olive oil, made in Palestine. As the Mirror reported today, the Co-op is the only major supermarket that will be stocking the olive oil - we even got praise from the Prime Minister!