As the worldwide trade in commodities such as cocoa, coffee and bananas becomes increasingly competitive, with the large multinational companies seeking growth in profits, small farmers have been forced to accept lower prices for their crops, sometimes below their cost of production. The concept of Fairtrade has been promoted to offer these small farmers in third world countries an alternative route to market that gives them a fair return for their labour.

The Fairtrade Organisation, a charity backed by Oxfam, has succeeded in convincing the major supermarkets in the UK that they should offer commodities such as coffee, chocolate and bananas, branded as Fairtrade products, at a price premium to their standard own-brand lines. It would then be up to their customers as to whether they were prepared to pay a premium to ensure third world farmers receive proper compensation for their efforts.

Banana farmers in the Windwards fit naturally under the Fairtrade label. They are all small farm owners paying decent wages to their workers who are often family members. Currently, only one in ten of supermarket customers in the UK are buying Fairtrade bananas. The farmers, as well as supplying standard fruit to the major supermarkets, also supply a certain number of pre-pack bags of Fairtrade fruit, for which they receive a higher price. They also receive an extra payment from the supermarkets involved in the project known as the Social Premium, paid to the Fairtrade Council in the Islands rather than individual farmers. This is spent on projects to improve the quality of life for each local community.

To date, the funds raised through the Fairtrade Premium have been spent on a wide range of projects in the Windwards, from computers and chairs for local schools to improvements to farm road systems.