Next time you come home from the supermarket with a load of goodies, pause for a moment before packing them away.

How much do you really know about what you're buying; that jar of instant coffee, for example?

You've seen the adverts on the telly; an ongoing soap opera of two trendy jetsetters falling in love.

But it's a far cry from the real story behind what they're drinking.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, but life is precarious for coffee pickers. The harvest lasts about three or four months, but for the rest of the year there is no work.

Their income averages out at about £73 per month and most of that goes on bills and rent.

"You don't eat, or you take your child out of school and put him to work ... to help increase the family income," says one picker. Children as young as six or seven can be found on the coffee plantations.

But there is something we in the West can do to change this state of affairs because four years ago this month the Fairtrade Foundation was set up.

When we buy a product bearing the Fairtrade Mark we can be sure that its producers have been paid a fair price, and work in safe and decent conditions, with respect for the local env-ironment.

Of course fairly-traded goods cost us a little more. But surely we can afford that bit extra on the housekeeping if it's going to pay for a child's healthcare or schooling?

Why not celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight, March 2-15, by buying a Fairtrade-marked product?

Look out for the Fairtrade Mark on Cafedirect coffee and Maya Gold chocolate, both available in Keighley supermarkets.

It guarantees a better deal for Third World producers.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.