Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast are offering free ice cream today, to celebrate Ben & Jerry’s Global Free Cone Day – Tuesday April 12. The company’s four scoop shops in Australia – located in Manly and Broadway in Sydney, Chadstone in Melbourne and at Movie World on the Gold Coast – are offering up “as many scoops as you can shake a digeridoo at” – one at a time, of course. Parent company Unilever said... ...Read more »

Sales of Fairtrade products have bucked the recession in the UK, rising by 40% and topping the GBP 1 billion mark for the first time.As it launched Fairtrade Fortnight, the Fairtrade Foundation reported that sales of Fairtrade products rose by 40% in 2010 to an estimated retail value of GBP1.17bn. The organisation said it demonstrated that UK shoppers are continuing to show their ethical values despite the tough times. “It is fantastic to break the first billion,” Fairtrade Foundation... ...Read more »

Despite an economically difficult year, sales of fairtrade products have been roaring, with consumers around the world spending around AU$5.4 billion on Fairtrade products in 2009 – a 15% increase over 2008. Australian and New Zealand consumers were a particularly strong market, increasing their Fairtrade shopping by 58%, compared to 14% in the UK and 7% in the US. Fairtrade cocoa grew by 35% and and sugar by 57%, thanks in part to Fairtrade committments by global chocolate and confectionary brands,... ...Read more »

As Fairtrade Fortnight concludes in the UK, Ben Cooper takes a look at the way big business has moved into the Fairtrade sector and asks whether this has created reputational risks for the movement.With Fairtrade Fortnight in the UK drawing to a close, those who support the idea of a more ethical marketplace and a fairer deal for farmers will no doubt be pausing to pay tribute to those bastions of the Fairtrade sector – companies like Nestlé, Kraft Foods and Tesco. Not the names you might... ...Read more »

Ben and Jerry’s announced in London yesterday (18th February) its commitment to go fully Fairtrade across its entire global flavour portfolio. The company has pledged that by the end of 2013 all of the flavours in all of the countries where Ben & Jerry’s is sold will be converted to Fairtrade CertifiedTM ingredients. Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company in the world to use Fairtrade CertifiedTM ingredients starting in 2005, and today it’s racing ahead as... ...Read more »