Fairtrade Foundation 'making all the difference' to farmers

It has been nearly 20 years since the Fairtrade Foundation was set up with the aim of providing products that guarantee a better deal to the farmers in the developing world who are producing them.

Over 4,500 items are now sold as "fairtrade" and the most popular of these are bananas, chocolate, coffee and sugar.

The term "fairtrade" generally applies to products made without child labour, in safe and fair conditions and with some of the profits going towards social and environmental development.

However the movement is not without critics and the free market think tank, the Legatum Institute said the scheme is very expensive for farmers to join, so those who might benefit most are excluded.

The executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation, Harriet Lamb, refuted that criticism saying fairtrade "makes all the difference" to farmers.