From bananas to brilliance: Fairtrade has come along way

As Fairtrade Fortnight begins today I couldn't help but think about how far the movement has come over the years. Only a few years ago you'd head into your local shop, not even sure if they'd have any fairtrade stuff stocked. If they did, often there wasn't a range, maybe one brand of Fairtrade coffee and we liked it or went without. For Fairtrade pioneers it wasn't that easy.

Oxfam has been involved in fairtrade for over 40 years. In 1991 we helped to found Café direct, which is now the 4th largest brand of coffee in the UK, although this is largely due to the amount of it that we drink here in the Oxfam head office.

Then in 1992 the Fairtrade Foundation was born and the rest, as they say, is history. The movement has increased in strength almost as quickly as the number of Fairtrade products has grown. As well as my three cups of Fairtrade coffee this morning, with 2 spoons of Fairtrade sugar in each, I've had a Fairtrade banana and rather naughtily a piece of Fairtrade chocolate. I might even tuck into some Fairtrade wine this evening.

Basically, the point is, long gone are the days when taking this vital action was difficult. Thanks to you this movement continues to grow and there are now over 3,000 Fairtrade products lining the shelves in most supermarkets and shops up and down the country. This is a fantastic achievement.

And now more than ever it's vital that we keep supporting the 7 million people who rely on fairtrade for their livelihoods. The affects of the global recession are being felt around the UK and we are increasingly aware of the impacts of climate change. But, to many people in the developing world these issues are life and death as their income drops and the price of food soars. As shoppers in the UK start budgeting more, we have to make sure that it's not the fairtrade items that come off the shopping list.

We've come along way and everyone who has played a role in supporting Fairtrade can rightly be proud. But now is the time to go further and keep buying, promoting and cajoling friends, colleagues and your local shop keeper until councils, businesses and cupboards all around the country are stocked with the range of products that now proudly carry the Fairtrade mark. And what better time to do this, then Fairtrade Fortnight.

Ian Sullivan is a campaigner at Oxfam