Fairtrade Wines - The Proof In The Glass

Do Fairtrade products do what they say on the container, or are they simply a form of charity? In this article, the author visits a small town in northern Argentina to find out, discovering that the Co-op's wines are clearly a huge success. While the Co-op enjoys only a 6.2% share of the grocery market, it has 25% of the Fairtrade market. And these are not just occasional purchases by people who want to salve their conscience with a "feel-good" glass of wine. Sales of Fairtrade wine roughly doubled (by volume and value) at the Co-op in 2005, and grew 89% in 2006. Gallup has found that new lines have no impact on existing Fairtrade lines, and maintain strong demand off-promotion - 50/50 against a more usual 80/20 split.