Today is the start of Fairtrade Fortnight (25 February – 9 March), where there is a particular push to encourage people to choose goods that have explicitly been produced with a fair deal for the farmers (and communities) at the beginning of the chain.

A couple of years ago, I posted a link to a blog article by Steve Lawson that aptly summed up Fair Trade as a positive investment. Each time you spend your money, you are making an investment in a whole chain of supply.

According to the BBC, sale of Fair Trade products has rose by 81% during 2007. More and more suppliers are deciding to offer Fair Trade certified lines (Tate and Lyle being the latest big name). This is a great start to the fortnight and also a reminder that all those consumers who have chosen to buy Fair Trade goods in preference to other choices, and perhaps sometimes do without if the Fair Trade choices aren’t available, have made a difference to the economy that is being noticed.

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