Make Your Mark: Sign now to join the movement

Maria Doris is building a fairer future. Will you join her?

 "Thanks to the Fairtrade Premium, we can provide opportunities to young people in our community." Maria Doris Calvo Ortiz, and her fellow Fairtrade banana growers in Orihueca in Colombia are Making Their Mark, using the power of Fairtrade. 

And Maria Doris isn't alone. She is one of over 2 million Fairtrade farmers and workers leading and inspiring our global Fairtrade movement. Millions of people like you choosing Fairtrade means in just one year Fairtrade farmers earned €190 million in Fairtrade Premium.

That's extra money farmers across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific are using to drive positive change, like taking on climate change, investing in children's education and building medical facilities.

To make an even bigger difference, we need you to Make Your Mark, too. Join the Fairtrade movement by committing to one of three practical ways to make change happen - or tell us what you will do.

Make your Fairtrade commitment today. Stand with farmers like Maria building a fairer future.

3 Ways to Make Your Mark with Fairtrade:

Choose Fairtrade: Commit to switching at least one item in your regular shop to Fairtrade. If all of us do this, that means more farmers earning a fairer deal, with more resources to invest in their communities.

Spread the word: Tell at least 10 people that farmers like Maria are using the power of Fairtrade to change things for the better. That's easier than it sounds - you can do it by clicking a button to share on social media after you sign!

Vote fair: When elections happen in your country, commit to asking candidates what they will do make trade fair. Farmers like Maria are doing their bit to change things - our politicians need to step up, too.

 

How Fairtrade makes change happen

For Maria Doris, Fairtrade means real, practical change in her community. Change she can lead. It means: 

  • Training, so the next generation can build new careers and grow their own businesses.
  • Sports and cultural activites, giving the local youth a positive focus. 
  • Access to education, which Maria Doris passionately believes must be shared throughout the community, especially with girls.

This is what the Fairtrade movement is all about. The extra income generated when you choose Fairtrade, being used by farmers to invest in the future of their families and whole communtiy.  

Despite the huge challenges communities like Orihueca face — climate change damaging crops, the legacy of conflict and, crucially, unfair trade that undervalues the skill and expertise of farmers and workers — Maria Doris remains hopeful. "It's never too late," she says. "That's what I tell young people. It's never too late to learn new, valuable things that give value to your life, your family and your future."

Maria Doris used Fairtrade to get her education, a degree in Education Studies. And now she's determined to use the extra income from Fairtrade to make sure the next generation has more opportunities to learn and grow.

Join Maria Doris in building a future that’s fair. How? Commit to action when you sign your name—Make Your Mark!

Sign to Make Your Mark