Little top-up? Can't say fairer than these...

YOU MIGHT not know it, but the Coop is the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade wines. Having launched its first Fairtrade wine in 2004, in 2023 it sold more than 21 million bottles of badged Fairtrade from Chile, Argentina and South Africa. Sales help fund social projects, including providing clean water for the village of Tilimuqui in northwest Argentina, as well as helping create the country’s first Fairtrade-funded secondary school, with more than 500 pupils now attending and receiving education.

- by Matt Nixson

In South Africa, Fairtrade wine has helped pay for creches, plus educational and community facilities. But if that wasn’t enough the actual wines are delicious and often terrific value.

The Fairtrade logo signifies the product meets ethical standards and by buying it, you are helping to improve conditions for more than 1.7 million farmers and workers in low-income parts of the developing world — including sustainable prices. Yet when it comes to wine, the logo is a less familiar sight than it could be. Although wine is produced commercially in 70 countries, just five nations — South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Lebanon — have signed up to the certification. More will surely follow in time.