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Jennipher Wattaka is a successful businesswoman, running a two-acre farm that produces a crop of around 500kg of coffee each year. Nothing unique about that, you might think. However, when you take into account that Wattaka's farm is in Uganda, a traditionally patriarchal nation in which wives are usually subservient to their husbands, her story takes on a new twist. Wattaka is a beacon of hope in a region that too often hogs the headlines for all of the wrong reasons. She is also a poster girl for the Fairtrade Foundation, an independent certification body that awards the Fairtrade Mark to products, such as Wattaka's coffee, that meet international Fairtrade standards set by FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International).

Wattaka is just one producer the organisation has used in its marketing to raise awareness of the Fairtrade Mark and deepen the understanding of what it means. The tactic is clearly working. In 2008, 70% of the UK population recognised the Fairtrade Mark, up from 57% in 2007. Research also showed under-standing of the underlying concept has increased, with 64% of the population linking the Mark to a better deal for producers in the developing world.

The person charged with managing the growth of Fairtrade and the Fairtrade Mark in the UK is marketing officer Emma Huntley. Prior to joining two years ago, she worked for a number of marketing agencies, primarily dealing with print-based materials. This hands-on introduction to print gave her the perfect skill-set for the post at Fairtrade.

Huntley’s first task was to bring to life a new campaign christened ‘Fairtrade at Work’ (see page 66). However, her role has gradually evolved and now a large percentage of her time is spent working on the organisation’s flagship annual event, Fairtrade Fortnight, which takes place between February and March.

A variety of stakeholders are involved in the campaign, from NGOs to retailers, with more than 10,000 events held to mark the occasion. The fortnight dominates much of Huntley’s time with the creative process for the following year’s campaign kicking off in early summer. Concepts are delivered in late summer, signed off in August and final materials are delivered in September and October, giving campaigners three months to order the materials they need and ensuring a lengthy lead time for printers. Huntley says printed materials play a major part in Fairtrade Fortnight’s success. One of our most popular bits of print is the Beginners Guide to Fairtrade leaflet, she explains. At this year’s event, we had an initial print run of 800,000 and then a follow-up run of 500,000, which went out to campaigners, supporters and activists.

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Another popular item was an action postcard that campaigners could give to shopkeepers requesting they stock Fairtrade goods − an initial print run of 350,000 was followed by a run of 150,000.

Although Huntley cannot divulge the organisation’s annual print budget (though she concedes that printed material takes up the majority of the budget for Fairtrade Fortnight) it’s clear that Fairtrade has a fairly sizeable spend. But while Huntley oversees the creation of printed materials and gives final sign-off, she relies heavily on communications agency Forster. Huntley says that the agency understands the constraints under which charities work and has its own ethical purchasing policy that sits well with the federation’s values.

Forster print manager Jo Ragozzino confirms her firm has stringent demands − not only does it operate a screening process for its suppliers, but it also vets its clients. This screening process hinges on continual improvement. We don’t just check our suppliers are doing the right things now − we also check how they are developing their processes for the future, she says.

As well as looking at potential business partners’ CSR performance, Forster’s screening process, which takes the form of a questionnaire, involves checking environmental areas such as whether the printer recycles off-cuts, uses renewable energy in the factory or prints with vegetable-based inks.

Potential suppliers are then rated as bronze, silver or gold. Two printers that passed the test with flying colours, and currently produce collateral for Fairtrade through Forster, are Polar, which has produced the last two Fairtrade Fortnights, and south west-based outfit Severnprint, which recently appeared in the Sunday Times Best Green Companies list.

We found Polar to be best practice in terms of what we look for from a printer, and Severnprint has been really talking the talk for quite a while now, says Ragozzino. She adds that members of the Forster team undertake regular site visits to keep up to date with what is going on at their print partners’ businesses.

Most Fairtrade work is straight-up four-colour, but when we have done jobs that are a bit more complex, we have a discussion with the printer about things like whether or not the finish is going to be the most effective, both in terms of the environment and cost, says Ragozzino.

Forster’s involvement in the print procurement process doesn’t mean Huntley just specs out jobs to Ragozzino and her team and then leave them to get on with it. We take a hands-on approach to our print and quality is important to us, says Huntley. For example, we like to look at wet proofs when they come back from the printers.

In addition to quality, another important factor for Fairtrade is minimising its environmental impact. To this end, Huntley says she is extremely aware of wastage and recycling is always at the forefront of her mind. It’s about striking a balance. We want to make sure we get the best value from the print run but at the same time we don’t want any leftover stock.

Wherever possible, Fairtrade uses the highest recycled content grades for its print runs and when it can’t, it opts for FSC-accredited stock. The foundation will attempt to minimise its environmental impact even further in the future exploring new media avenues on websites such as Facebook and YouTube, but the good news for printers is that Fairtrade is fully behind the power of print, with campaigners requesting more and more marketing materials each year.

Print has a very important role for us because our campaigners need printed resources and this year orders were up 30%, says Huntley. That’s why we create posters that tell the story of some of our producers. We know consumers like to hear these stories and if we can bring them to life through a printed poster, it goes a long way towards building an understanding of what we do.