Fair Trade Sales Up 24% Among Mainstream Shoppers

Mainstream consumers are increasing their commitment to Fair Trade faster than ever, with sales of Fair Trade Certified products up 24 percent to $170 million during 2010.

That’s according to new data released by Fair Trade USA, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States.

Today, consumers can find Fair Trade products in every aisle of the supermarket. Due to this broad availability, driven by more than 700 companies offering Fair Trade Certified products, now more and more mainstream American shoppers are Fair Trade converts. The 2010 data from SPINS, the first company to offer Fair Trade certified sales data across natural, specialty and mainstream channels, indicates that sales of Fair Trade Certified products at mainstream channels grew faster (26 percent) than those of specialty grocers (22 percent) and natural grocers (16 percent).

“We’re excited that in spite of the economic recession, consumers everywhere are embracing the idea that every purchase matters,” said Cate Baril, director of business development, grocery and ingredients. “The volume of growth in mainstream grocers was over three times larger than the volume of growth in the natural and specialty channels, traditionally the leading retailers of Fair Trade Certified products, where we continue to also see significant growth.”

Conventional customers have thrown their plastic bags away to fill their reusable totes to the brim with Fair Trade products like the following:

- Coffee, the flagship Fair Trade category, grew 33 percent, due to the increased variety of Fair Trade coffees available through a broader assortment of retail supermarkets.
- Ready-to-drink tea and coffee, fueled by new commitments from Honest Tea and healthy growth from Adina Coffee, was up 39 percent.
- In sweeteners, sweet toothed Fair Trade supporters indulged in wholesome sweeteners among others, driving an increase of 17 percent.
- On a couple of additional sweet notes, frozen desserts increased 4 percent and chocolate rose 19 percent.
- Moreover, a growing desire to put Fair Trade on the inside and the outside led aromatherapy and body oils/body care to increase 19 percent and skin care/body care by 32 percent.

SPINS is the first company to offer Natural Products sales data to the industry. Established in 1995, SPINS is now the premier provider of industry reporting and consulting services for this rapidly expanding sector. SPINS’ comprehensive offering includes retail measurement services, content-based reporting, consumer information and consulting services.

www.FairTradeUSA.org
 

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