Fairtrade Fortnight 2025

• newEditor
• PSHE
• Fairtrade
• +1
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)

Introductie

This lesson examines the principles, processes and effects of the fairtrade organisation. Your students will see some real examples of the positive effects of fairtrade through video resources, and have the chance to explore whether they perceive the extra cost of the products as 'worth' the humanitarian value. Having some fairtrade products for your students to look at would be a fantastic addition to the lesson! Understanding where our everyday goods come from requires examining the complex networks of global trade. This interactive resource guides students through the core principles of Fairtrade Fortnight, examining global supply chains, producer equity, and the real-world impact of ethical consumerism. Interactive Highlights: Baseline and evaluative word clouds to capture prior understanding and map visible indicators of social/economic impact. Visual hotspot and informative slides breaking down campaign definitions, regional trade vulnerabilities, and official certification marks. Engaging video case studies examining core Fairtrade mechanisms and the global cocoa supply chain through the story of chocolate. Reflective open-ended discussion prompts challenging students to weigh personal purchasing habits against broader moral and financial factors. Best Suited For: Secondary (KS3/KS4) and Further Education (FE) learners in Geography, Business Studies, PSHE, Citizenship, or Economics, tailored for live whole-class delivery or guided debate.

Instructies

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What do you already know about Fairtrade?

Gathering initial keywords and prior knowledge allows you to baseline student understanding of ethical commerce before diving into specific economic models.

Stretch: Challenge learners to categorise the submitted words into 'structural economic mechanisms' (e.g., supply chain, tariff, premium) versus 'ethical values' (e.g., fair, help, green).

Device-Free: Have students write their top three keywords on sticky notes and place them on the main board, physically clustering similar concepts together to create a manual word cloud.

Fairtrade Fortnight is an annual campaign by the Fairtrade Foundation that raises awareness about fair trade issues and promotes the purchase of Fairtrade products.

Providing a clear, formal definition of Fairtrade Fortnight establishes the core concept of ethical consumerism and sets the foundation for understanding how global trade standards impact smallholder farming communities worldwide.

Stretch: Challenge learners to contrast the operational mechanisms of Fairtrade (e.g., minimum price floors, Fairtrade Premium) with conventional free-market supply chains, identifying who holds the financial risk in each model.

Device-Free: Display the core definition on the main screen, then cover it up and ask students to turn to a partner and rephrase the core objective of the campaign in under 15 words.

The event highlights the plight of farmers and workers in developing countries who often face low prices and volatile market conditions, while also showcasing how Fairtrade offers them a vital safety net and a chance to invest in their communities through the Fairtrade Premium.

Equal Say

Farmers and workers have representation at all levels of decision making, including 50% of the power at the ‘general assembly’

1.

Priority on Price

Minimum prices set for all major commodities - meaning that producers can’t be ‘priced out’. Leading the way on living wages for workers too!

2.

Fixed Fairtrade Premium

The ‘Fairtrade Premium’ is a an extra bit of money that farmers and workers get on top of the minimum fairtrade price to invest in their business or community as they want.

3.

Strong Standards

Standards support farmers and workers to protect their land, health and work. It also promotes sustainability and compliance with health and human rights standards.

4.

Democratic/ Inclusive

Fairtrade requires farmers to work collectively with democratic and transparent structures, giving them more bargaining power and control over their businesses.

5.

Supporting Locals

Fairtrade provides support from local experts to help farmers, workers and exporters in developing countries to maximise their growth, income and personal support.

6.

Interactive hotspots highlighting why Fairtrade is necessary help students visualize real-world supply chain vulnerabilities—such as extreme price volatility, climate disruption, and labor exploitation—across primary producer regions.

Stretch: Challenge learners to analyze how commodity market price fluctuations directly impact a smallholder farmer's net income, and evaluate whether voluntary ethical trading standards are sufficient to address systemic global market failures.

Device-Free: Display key regional icons on the main board and assign student pairs a specific regional "hotspot" (e.g., cocoa in West Africa, coffee in South America) to discuss and present two structural economic challenges farmers face in that area.

Utilizing video content provides a direct visual link to primary producers, helping students grasp the real-world operational journey of Fairtrade goods from origin farms to retail shelves.

Stretch: Challenge learners to critically evaluate the video's campaign messaging, distinguishing between emotional storytelling and core economic data regarding wage guarantees and community premiums.

Device-Free: Before playing the video, ask students to write down two key questions about global supply chains, then conduct a quick turn-and-talk halfway through to review any answers revealed so far.

Look for the logo!

How to know if something is fairtrade...

Check the working conditions of the staff! Use your common sense to decide if they are happy and safe

Check the website!

https://www.fairtrade.net/en/fairtrade-finder.html

Consider the pricing. To ensure the workers are paid well, fairtrade products are usually not the cheapest...

Teaching students how to identify the official FAIRTRADE Mark on packaging equips them with practical consumer literacy, helping them distinguish independently verified ethical supply chains from corporate self-certification.

Stretch: Challenge learners to compare the official FAIRTRADE Mark with other ethical certifications (e.g., Rainforest Alliance, Cocoa Life) and evaluate how "label fatigue" and proprietary schemes impact consumer trust.

Device-Free: Pass around a mix of real product packaging (or printed wrappers) and have students race in pairs to spot the Fairtrade logo, identifying whether the entire product or only specific ingredients are certified.

How do we know it helps?

Prompting students to submit words describing how we measure Fairtrade's success encourages them to identify tangible evidence—such as community infrastructure, guaranteed minimum pricing, and worker rights—rather than relying on vague assumptions.

Stretch: Challenge learners to categorize the word cloud responses into direct economic benefits (e.g., income stability) versus long-term community developments funded by the Fairtrade Premium (e.g., healthcare, education, clean water).

Device-Free: Have students write two distinct impact indicators on separate sticky notes using different colors (e.g., green for financial, blue for social) and cluster them on the whiteboard to physically map out the data.

Using the cocoa supply chain as a primary case study highlights the stark economic disparity between global chocolate brands and smallholder farmers, illustrating how the Fairtrade Premium transforms agricultural communities.

Stretch: Challenge learners to map out the value breakdown of a standard bar of chocolate and evaluate which actors in the supply chain (e.g., growers, processors, brand owners, retailers) capture the highest percentage of the final retail price.

Device-Free: Before playing the video, have students draw a 4-stage flowchart on paper representing the journey of cocoa, annotating each stage with potential supply chain risks or cost markups as they watch.

Class Discussion:

Has learning about Fairtrade made you want to buy Fairtrade products more? If so, why? If not, why not?

Prompting students to reflect on their own consumer intent encourages them to critically evaluate moral motivations against practical real-world constraints, such as personal budget, product availability, or brand loyalty.

Stretch: Challenge learners to analyze whether individual consumer choices alone can drive macro-level trade reform, or if regulatory policy and corporate mandates are necessary to achieve systemic trade justice.

Device-Free: Conduct a 'continuum line' activity where students physically stand along a spectrum across the classroom based on their likelihood to adjust their purchasing habits, turning to justify their position to a partner standing near them.

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