Products available
Fairtrade certified products currently available in Australia and New Zealand are listed below. Click on the links to learn more about these products.
This list will continue to grow over time.
For more information on what Fairtrade products are available globally, see the FLO website.
The range of fairly traded products from IFAT members include handicrafts, clothing, serving dishes, Manchester, toys, soaps and cosmetics and carpets, among others.
Search now for fair trade products in your area.
Fairtrade Chocolate & Cocoa
While most people enjoy chocolate, it’s no treat for the hundreds of thousands of labourers who pick the cocoa that goes into some of our favourite sweets.
Children and other workers are forced to work long days picking and processing cocoa beans (it takes 400 of these pods to make just one pound of chocolate) and very little of the profit goes to the farmers who grow the cocoa beans.The difficulty in making a living at cocoa farming has spawned an increase in child and even slave labour.
Fairtrade cocoa offers farmers an opportunity to make a real living, and provides consumers a trusted guarantee that no forced or abusive child labour was used in the making of the product.
Chocolate, chocolate drinks, and cocoa made from Fairtrade certified cocoa and Fairtrade certified sugar were introduced to the ANZ market in 2005 with great success.
A range of Easter Eggs made from Fairtrade certified cocoa was launched in Australia and New Zealand in time for Easter 2007.
For more information on cocoa, see the FLO website here.
Go here to read more about the issues and Fairtrade impacts associated with cocoa and chocolate production, including watching a short video online by Reuters on cocoa production in Ghana.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade chocolate and cocoa products in Australia and New Zealand
Fairtrade Coffee
Fairtrade certified coffee is by far the most prominent Fairtrade product in the Australian and New Zealand market. It represents more than 80% of Fairtrade sales and more than 80% of the companies involved in Fairtrade in ANZ trade in coffee.
- Go here to read profiles of some of the Fairtrade certified producer groups whose beans are being sold in Australia and New Zealand.
- For more information on Fairtrade Coffee go to the FLO website here.
- See this great report from the Fairtrade Foundation UK on the global coffee trade and Fairtrade's role, and find links to other stories, articles, etc. on the global coffee trade and Fairtrade's impacts here.
- Read about recent FLO processes to review the Fairtrade Price, Premium and Organic Differential for Fairtrade coffee here and here. Hear a BBC documentary on the costs of coffee.
- Read an article about Ugandan Coffee producers here, or see a short video here.
More coming on Fairtrade coffee soon.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade coffee in Australia and New Zealand
Fairtrade Cotton
Garments made from Fairtrade Certified cotton became available in Australia and New Zealand mid 2006, following the adoption of Fairtrade standards for cotton in 2004 and the growth of Fairtrade cotton markets in Europe.
Garments made from Fairtrade Certified cotton carry a slight variation of the standard FAIRTRADE Label - it has a 'Certified Cotton' tag as well.
Fairtrade Certified cotton addresses the development needs of small holder cotton farmers in developing countries who are facing poverty, in part because of subsidies provided by some Western nations to their cotton growers that distort global markets. Fairtrade certification ensures that these farmers receive a fair price for their cotton and a Fairtrade premium for them to invest in social, environmental and economic development of their communities. In order to qualify for Fairtrade certification, the producers must demonstrate they meet the minimum Fairtrade standards on various social and environmental measures.
You can read the Fairtrade Standards for cotton here:
Also read this overview of Fairtrade Certified cotton (600kb, pdf).
Companies selling clothes made with Fairtrade Certified cotton are also required to register all steps in the supply chain and provide evidence that labour standards have been adhered to in the factories where the clothes are made. However, at this stage we cannot guarantee that all garments made with Fairtrade Certified cotton are ‘sweat free’ and made under conditions that empower workers. Additionally, the economic benefits of Fairtrade - the price and premium - are only being paid to the cotton producers.
The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation is holding discussions with unions, NGOs and other stakeholders with the goal of developing mechanisms which can better audit and guarantee sweat free garment supply chains.
If you would like to more information about Fairtrade certification of cotton, and its relationship to the garment supply chain, please contact Cameron Neil via audit@fairtrade.com.au.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade certified cotton garments in Australia and New Zealand.
Fairtrade Quinoa
Fairtrade certified quinoa is available in small quantities in Australia and New Zealand via cross-border sales from other markets.
You can download more information about the Fairtrade quinoa standards on the FLO website here.
More coming on Fairtrade quinoa soon.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade quinoa in Australia and New Zealand
Fairtrade Rice
More than a billion people - predominantly small farmers in the South - make their living mainly or even exclusively from rice production. These small farmers often have it tough due to the practice of 'dumping' rice from subsidised crops in highly efficient producer countries at below production costs in their domestic markets. This means that in many regions it is becoming increasingly difficult, if not completely impossible, to sell domestic rice at sustainable prices.
In addition, farmers struggle with steadily rising prices for “improved” seeds and the associated agricultural chemicals. To buy these, farmers often have to take out loans and, once in debt, very few ever manage to free themselves from the vicious circle of indebtedness; ultimately, they are often forced to sell what little land they own.
In 2000, FLO took the first steps towards the introduction of the Faitrade Standard for Rice to open up new markets for the benefit of small farmers. Today a total of 15 rice producer organizations in Thailand, India, Egypt and Laos are Fairtrade Certified.
Fairtrade certified rice is available in small quantities in Australia and New Zealand via cross-border sales from other markets.
For more information, visit the FLO website here.
More coming on Fairtrade rice soon.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade rice in Australia and New Zealand
Fairtrade Sportballs
Sport balls were the first non-food product which was Fairtrade Certified. The movement toward Fairtrade Certification of sport balls began in 2001, and was a logical progression from the elimination of child labor in the soccer ball industry in Pakistan.
Fairtrade certified sportsballs are available in Australia and New Zealand, having been launched here during the Football World Cup in 2006.
To find out about the producer group that makes the sportsballs sold in Australia and New Zealand,click on the link below:
Talon
To find out more about Fairtrade Sportsballs, visit the FLO website, here.
More coming on Fairtrade sportsballs soon.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade sportsballs in Australia and New Zealand
Fairtrade Tea
Fairtrade certified tea was, along with coffee, the first Fairtrade product introduced in to the Australian and New Zealand market back in October 2003.
Fairtrade Certification for Tea means that:
- The garden where the tea is grown meets specific criteria for the wages, living situation, and working conditions of its pickers.
- The tea is directly purchased from the plantation or co-operative.
- The price paid for Fairtrade tea should cover the production costs in addition to a Fairtrade Premium of 50 cents to US$1 per kilo on top of the market price.
- For every tea purchase, this Fairtrade Premium goes directly back to the tea pickers themselves. For plantations, a committee called a Joint Body, elected by the workers, decides how these funds will be used to meet the community's needs. Both tea cooperatives and plantations have used the Fairtrade Premiums to hire school teachers, build maternal health clinics, and bring electricity to their villages, among other projects.
For More Information on Fairtrade Tea see the FLO website here.
Read this response to a claim by Dilmah founder that "Fairtrade is a farce".
More coming on Fairtrade tea soon.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade tea in Australia and New Zealand