Trade Aid in NZ was founded in 1973. It stands for social justice, fair trade and fair prices.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s in New Zealand, my family got involved with the Trade Aid Society which sold textiles and cane woven baskets from third world countries - mostly from Asia, South America and the Pacific at that time. I remember buying a large red colorful patterned shoulder bag from Peru that was quite strong, quite large and could hold a fair number of books. I loved that bag.

In 1985, the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) was founded as the international Umbrella group for all the fair trade groups that have blossomed over the last 50 plus years. The WFTO owns the Fair Trade logo, and certifies producers, making sure they treat their workers fairly and also ensuring that producers do not use child or slave labour.

In the 21st century, Fair Trade producers can now also be found in Africa. Food products are now a large part of the fair trade movement and have expanded to include tea, coffee and chocolate (Cocoa beans). The raw beans and leaves are packaged up in bulk and sold back to the WFTO where they are again resold or distributed to the various trade organisations.

Those organisations then package up the tea leaves, either ground up the coffee beans, or sell them as whole beans, and use the cocoa beans to make delicious chocolate bars which are also sold. These 3 products alone are almost always the top sellers. The demand for tea, coffee and chocolate is never ending.

Other food items now being produced as Fair Trade goods, include Bananas, Spices and Sugar.

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream has been a socially aligned business since the 1980s when the company began. Since 2005, it has been purchasing and using Fair Trade products. Ben and Jerrys now source 5 major ingredients on Fair Trade terms. These ingredients are sugar, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, and bananas.

Sobeys Supermarkets in Canada are known to buy and sell some foods under the Fair Trade umbrella. Mostly Bananas. Any Bananas that have the fair trade logo sticker on them, (as seen on my layout) are guaranteed to be ethically produced and sold.

In 2014, New Zealand Trade Aid built a chocolate factory which now produces chocolate bars made from Fair Trade sugar, vanilla and cocoa. The Milk of course comes from New Zealand farmers. These chocolate bars are now in rather high demand, and just this year (2023) Trade Aid chocolate bars were approved as an official snack in Air New Zealand Premium Cabins on their International flights.