Why Should We Choose Fairtrade? | AD

Can't start your day without your Black Americano? Prone to an Almond Milk Latte? Perhaps your coffee of choice is a Cappuccino with an extra shot? Whichever is your coffee of choice, have you ever thought about where the coffee your choosing is coming from? Or checked to see if it's Fairtrade?

I, alongside so many aren't consciously making this choice and after spending an evening with Fairtrade and Greggs (yes, Greggs - more on that later!) it has opened my eyes up to what I just wasn't really thinking of. Of course, I was aware about it but it rarely passed further than the label on a bar of chocolate I passed on the shelves at Co-op when I do my weekly shop. But it is so important and I'm here to give you the 411 on why it's something we should be more aware of. 

So what exactly is Fairtrade? 

Fairtrade is a global movement and it's so active in the UK which makes it incredibly easy for us to get involved. By shopping Fairtrade, you are supporting the movement for better prices, decent working conditions and better terms for the farmers and workers that are producing the food we eat and the drinks we drink. People are at the heart of this Fairtrade system and by supporting it, you are supporting them too. 

When I hung out with Fairtrade and Greggs, we focused on coffee as it's a daily essential for some (and a nicety for most) and for me, I just bloomin' love it - but I never consciously thought about the coffee I drank or where it came from. For me? It's all about convenience, and generally I just go wherever I'm next to at the time. Needs must and all that but I didn't realise how easy it was to make that choice. 

I'm a lazy girl at heart (hello my 'Lazy Girl's Guide To' series) and so it can be a little on the testing side to go out of my way to make a good choice when all I want to do is go for the closest option - but that's what I'm here to tell you. As you might have guessed, if you put two and two together... I'm here to tell you that Greggs - yes Greggs - the bakery on pretty much every high street, has you covered on the Fairtrade coffee front - and it has been for 10 years!

After many an Espresso Martini and my coffee of choice (at the mo anyway), White Americano - we were revealed that the Fairtrade coffee were drinking that evening was actually the blend that Greggs serves up in all of their shops. All Greggs hot drinks are certified Fairtrade. From their Flat Whites to their Green Teas, and from their Hot Chocolates straight through to their Espressos. They are all Fairtrade and they don't break the bank. 

I am the first to admit that I assumed that making better choices like choosing Fairtrade would break the bank - or you know, just add a few extra pounds onto something I sometimes feel a little on the guilty side for buying it out some days anyway. I am that person, that heads to a fancy local coffee shop, is sucked into buying many things alongside my coffee, and don't necessarily enjoy it anyway. £8 later and not much happier. 

I had never thought of going to Greggs for coffee before. The odd pastry - Cheese and Onion Pasty for me, Sausage Roll for the boyf, but never coffee. I guess it's just the norm, you have your go-to coffee places and that's that BUT IT'S TIME TO BREAK THAT MOULD. 

Greggs coffee is made with a unique blend of freshly ground Arabica and Robusta coffee beans which are slow-roasted and it creates a delicious full flavour. I love my coffee - and my boyfriend even more so, and since I've got him hooked. It tastes incredible and it's so affordable. 

By picking up your coffee from Greggs, your supporting the Fairtrade movement and you're supporting the people who grow and make your coffee in the first place. If we can make that choice and it doesn't cost us any extra and it's easily accessible then why shouldn't we? 

I wasn't aware how easy making the choice was. I wasn't aware how to do it. I wasn't even really aware what it meant to support it and what it would actually do for the makers of the produce. You're improving their lives, you're improving their communities. It's not a charity, we're not asking for you to donate money, we're just asking you make a choice and buy something that you already would be buying to support those who work hard for our produce - and they deserve to earn a decent living for that right? We work hard to earn our wages, and so do they and I want to support that. 

Greggs have been certified Fairtrade for 10 years and they are continuing to support the movement. Whether I'm picking up my coffee from my local Greggs or keeping my eyes peeled for the Fairtrade logo when I'm doing my shopping - I'll be making a conscious effort to buy Fairtrade as I really can't express how important it is. Will you? 

Lorna x

This feature has been sponsored by Greggs and Fairtrade but as always all thoughts are my own. 

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