The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the campaign to make Scotland one of the world's first Fair Trade Nations, and we provide funding to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to drive forward this agenda.
Most people are probably aware of the term "fair trade", but what exactly does it mean?
Fair trade is a way to support producers in developing countries by ensuring they receive a fair price for their goods, better terms of trade and decent working conditions. This in turn provides an opportunity for the producers and their families to work their way out of poverty and have a better quality of life.
Fair trade involves a minimum price that a buyer of Fairtrade products has to pay to a producer for their goods. Although the price is not fixed, it is set at a level which ensures that producers receive a price which covers the cost of sustainable production for their product. In addition, the Fairtrade premium is a sum of money paid on top of the agreed Fairtrade price for investment in social, environmental and economic development projects (for example, the building of roads or schools).
Amazingly, there are now over 3,000 Fairtrade certified products available ranging from the well known such as tea, coffee, fruit and sugar to the less well known: footballs, flowers, jewellery, crafts, cotton and ice cream. Most large supermarkets and coffee shops now sell Fairtrade products and there are many other fair and ethically trading retailers across Scotland such as Rainbow Turtle, One World Shop and Traidcraft to name but a few.
Of course, it is not simply about products carrying the Fairtrade accreditation mark featured above. There are other fair and ethical trading initiatives, for example the Rainforest Alliance.
So next time you are in the supermarket, you can choose to help those less fortunate than ourselves by making small changes to your weekly shop and purchasing Fairtrade or ethically traded products.
More information can be found on the Fairtrade Foundation's website at: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/.