One in three bananas bought in the UK is Fairtrade and it makes a huge difference to thousands of farmers, workers and their families.

The price of a banana bought in a UK supermarket has dropped from around 18p a decade ago to just 11p now. The result is that for farmers and workers in countries like Colombia and the Dominican Republic, growing bananas for a living is becoming unsustainable.

But buying Fairtrade bananas in the UK means that producers are guaranteed a minimum price, get an extra premium to invest in their community and have improved workplace conditions and protection.

Find out where you can buy Fairtrade chocolate and make a difference to the lives of cocoa farmers and their families around the world.

Life is tough for cocoa farmers. The price of cocoa beans has slumped in recent years despite high demand, disease and age are damaging cocoa trees and few young people are becoming cocoa farmers because of the poor prospects.

Fairtrade helps to make cocoa farming in places like Ivory Coast and Ghana more sustainable by guaranteeing minimum prices and providing a premium to invest in local communities, so farmers can provide a better future for themselves and their families.

And you can give them this opportunity just by enjoying your favourite Fairtrade chocolate treat.

Fairtrade Certified Gold is the world's first independent ethical certification system for gold.

Buying Fairtrade Gold makes a real difference to the lives of miners, their families and communities. Jewellery with the Fairtrade Gold Stamp is extra special. Buying it means you know the small-scale and artisanal miners were paid a fair price, giving them financial security.

They also receive an extra amount of money to invest in building the future of their families and their communities, through education, medical care or environmental projects.

Make Fairtrade part of your beauty routine by choosing products with the FAIRTRADE Mark, there are nearly 150 products available from body butter to dental care.

Think it’s all about cocoa and shea butter? Small-scale farmers in over 50 countries, including Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Dominican Republic produce ingredients such as coconut, argan, apricot and brazil nut oils for beauty products. And when you choose Fairtrade, they get a fair price and support to invest in community projects, from clean drinking water to improving their local healthcare.

You can find Fairtrade beauty products stocked on the high street and in supermarkets, as well as online.

When you choose Fairtrade coffee, not only can farmers build a better quality of life for their families and communities, they can invest in growing better quality beans too.

Fairtrade coffee farmers invest at least 25 percent of their Fairtrade premium in improving productivity and quality.

Choose Fairtrade coffee and you’re also supporting farmers to fight the challenges they may face. These include the effects of a changing climate, low and unpredictable incomes and in some coffee growing communities, there may not be enough food available for three to four months a year.

Being part of Fairtrade has meant better knowledge about protecting the local environment and the chance to plant other crops and buy livestock to put more food on the table.

Lots of us care about how we look – and buying clothes made with Fairtrade cotton means we can be a follower of fashion and at the same time help low paid cotton farmers around the world.

The price of cotton has slumped in the last 30 years, even though the cost of producing it has risen and that means farmers in places like India, Kyrgyzstan and West Africa are struggling to survive.

Buying products made from Fairtrade Cotton ensures that the farmers receive a fair and stable price for their cotton.

If you’d like to get hold of Fairtrade cotton items for your workplace, event, school or promotion, you can find more information

Whatever the occasion, you can say it with Fairtrade flowers. With 69 shades available across UK retailers and online there is colour to suit everyone.

There are almost 50,000 flower workers working with Fairtrade to get a better deal. They grow, harvest, pack and care for the roses so you can enjoy them all year round.

Fairtrade flowers are traceable back to the original farm, if you shop at Sainsbury’s you’ll notice the price labels say which farm the flowers have come from. Fairtrade certified farms must ensure safety and working conditions for their employees and a premium of 10% for every stem sold allows workers to invest in healthcare, education and other social benefits. Fairtrade works with flower workers in countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Uganda and Tanzania.

Many of the major supermarkets and stockists offer Fairtrade flowers. These include not just Roses and Spray Roses and Lilies but also, Eryngium, Calla Lilies, Sunflowers, and Alstroemerias so there’s a Fairtrade bouquet whether it’s your wedding day or a simple thank you. For inspiration head over to our Fairtrade Flowers Pinterest page.

British consumers and companies choosing Fairtrade sugar sent more than £5million in Fairtrade premium back to sugar cane smallholders last year.

Consumed in moderation, sugar can provide some of life’s great pleasures and whilst concerns about obesity and health are critically important, few would choose to live without it entirely.

This is used for projects ranging from improving farming techniques to investing in schools – helping thousands of farmers and their families in countries from Belize to Zambia to take control of their own lives and destinies and improving their communities and their environment.

Fairtrade sugar is stocked by many major retailers and supermarkets – and is used in some chocolate bars as well as by restaurants and ice cream makers. Next time you bake a cake or sprinkle sugar on your pancakes, make it Fairtrade and make life a little sweeter for the farmers who produced it as well.

Not all tea is created equal

Behind your brew, real people face low wages, discrimination and the hard choices living in poverty can bring.

Whether farmers working their own land, or workers on big estates, the people who grow and pick our tea often don’t earn enough to even feed their families.

But when you buy Fairtrade tea, farmers and workers can bring greater security, equality and opportunity to the lives of their families and communities – and that’s just for starters.

Through Fairtrade, they can improve their working conditions and learn how to improve the way they farm and manage their environment. They can make sure their children are fed and can go to school. Communities can invest in clean water and clinics, improving everyone’s health.

So, however you make your cuppa, make sure it’s Fairtrade.

Buying Fairtrade wine helps ensure that farmers and workers are receiving a fair price – as well as an additional premium to help their community invest in essential services such as education, sanitation and health care.

Wine producers across South Africa and South America face unique economic, social and political challenges. From the legacy of apartheid in South Africa and low market prices in South America, farmers are exposed to an unpredictable future.

More than 50 manufacturers and plantations work with Fairtrade to make quality wine that makes a difference to people’s lives.

More than 11 million litres of Fairtrade wine was drunk in the UK in 2013. So raise your glass of Fairtrade wine - every bottle that you buy can have an impact on the lives of the farmers and workers who grew the grapes.

From nuts to dried fruit, cosmetics to footballs you can put all sorts of Fairtrade products in your shopping basket.

Buy any product with the FAIRTRADE Mark on it and you are supporting farmers and workers as they work to improve their lives and their communities. The money they receive from the Fairtrade Premium supports better farming, strong cooperatives, investment in local infrastructure and helping communities plan for the future. So, why not try something new and Fairtrade?