Carrie Buckle reports on the fair trade revolution and the drive towards ethical consumerism.

Many people have little idea what the term fair trade really means and bunch it together with health food shops and organic produce.

Yet last week we received another forceful reminder of the plight of slaves who produce vast amounts of cocoa and coffee for this country.

Reports of 250 child slaves from Benin sailing off the coast of West Africa allegedly bound for cocoa plantations created both shock and outrage in the Western world.

However, despite these tales of workers being exploited, consumers have been slow on the uptake of what fair trade really means.

It is all about guaranteeing farmers a decent price for what they produce.

However, things are starting to change. The Fairtrade Foundation recently reported UK consumers were now spending £30 million a year on Fairtrade marked products, an increase of 50 per cent during the past 12 months.

As fair trade products target the mainstream market, it seems Brighton and Hove shoppers have led the switch to more ethical products.

Last week Brighton and Hove became not only The Place To Be but was also launched as a Divine City by the Day Chocolate company and writer Simon Fanshawe.

Mr Fanshawe, who led The Place To Be city status campaign, said: "The city is increasingly prosperous but we never forget the problems we need to tackle to make sure the poorer sections of our community share in our stronger local economy."

The fair trade movement started in Europe in the Sixties. The label was launched in Britain by charities including Oxfam and Christian Aid through the Fairtrade Foundation in 1994.

Brighton and Hove has been one of the key cities behind the fair trade movement and is building upon a bedrock of support.

Anita Roddick opened her first Body Shop store in Kensington Gardens, Brighton, 25 years ago with an emphasis on community trade.

Now an international empire, it provides an example of how fair trade products captured the imagination of consumers firstly in Brighton and then around the globe to the point where it became mainstream.

The Day Chocolate Company is part-owned by Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of 35,000 small-scale cocoa farmers in Ghana.

Their cocoa beans not only make up their chocolate but also the Body Shop's cocoa butter.

Part-owned by the Body Shop, the firm's chocolate is already sold in supermarkets throughout the country and was even introduced in Parliament last month.

Managing director Sophi Tranchell, 37, said: "We are not aiming at the posh market but want to sell everywhere from corner shops to the big supermarkets.

"We chose Brighton as it's full of people who want to make a difference.

"As well as liaising with various organisations here we are also in negotiations with the Good Bean Coffee company, which was started in Brighton.

"Chocolate is such a good way to introduce fair trade to the public as everyone loves it."

The launch of Day chocolate is not only a good vehicle for introducing the public to fair trade but is symptomatic of a growing awareness of it.

A network of local retailers and organisations are striving to ensure this trend continues in Brighton and Hove.

With an ethical community in the city, people have been demanding the products for some time. Dozens of shops stock fair trade products including Infinity Foods and Harvest Forestry.