Fair & Ethical

  • FairEthicaltext1Agricultural products
  • Textile & leather
  • Handicrafts 

SECTOR OVERVIEW

One of the most important trends in recent years has been the increasing demand by consumers that the products they purchase do not exploit the people involved in their production. This has led to the development of labels and standards to provide consumer guarantees and assurances. Entering this sector is not as simple as it may appear, but Searce can provide insight and guidance to those companies and organisations wishing to look more closely in this sector. Fair trade predominantly relates to agricultural products while Ethical trade tends to relate more to textiles, handicrafts, jewellery, cosmetics and leather goods.

INTERESTING TO KNOW

The UK is the largest fair trade market in Europe, while the Czech Republic is the fastest growing. Banana is the largest product group, while wine and cocoa are the fastest growing.

On the other hand, sales of ethical clothing meanwhile have suffered during the recession in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, despite still being 70% higher than they were in 2007. Meanwhile there are still many markets for ethical clothing with untapped potential, particularly in Eastern Europe.

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