Are you interested in jumping into the emerging arena of marketing socially conscious products? Now you can learn from those who’ve gone before–and found profits.

Link: brandchannel.com | Fairtrade Movement.

From humble beginnings, the Fairtrade movement has blossomed into an international labeling organization endorsing brands in nineteen markets around the world. In the UK, the largest national Fairtrade market by volume, sales of products bearing the Fairtrade mark are running at around ?100 million per year (US$ 187M).

Among the mix of firms contributing to the success of Fairtrade are a group of companies achieving rates of sales growth that make the big brands look frankly pedestrian. So how have the star performers (which include the likes of Cafe Direct, Britain’s third largest ground and roasted coffee brand) turned doing the right thing into profit?

In the UK the Fairtrade mark is controlled by the Fairtrade Foundation, a non-profit backed by voluntary groups and international development agencies. Originally limited to a few core products, the mark now applies to a wide range of food and non-food items. Although each product category has slightly different licensing criteria, the guiding aim is to guarantee fair and stable prices to producer co-operatives, plus decent working conditions for hired workers.