Ben & Jerry's ices go Fairtrade

Jerry Greenfield, right, says the firm is not just about money

US ice-cream firm Ben & Jerry's is set to launch its first Fairtrade product in the UK as it looks to supply a rise in demand for more ethical shopping.

The US firm said it will use Fairtrade vanilla pods from India and sugar from Paraguay in its classic vanilla tubs.

Under the Fairtrade scheme, producers get a minimum price to cover costs, and extra to pay for development projects.

Global sales of Fairtrade products totalled £758m ($1.4bn) in 2005, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation said.

In the UK last year, Fairtrade sales rose by 40% from 2004 to more than £195m.

The number of Fairtrade products have also been growing quickly, with UK consumers able to buy everything from coffee to cotton.

Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield said signing up to Fairtrade was the next step for his company in its efforts to ethically source its products.

"I am not saying you have to buy Ben & Jerry's ice cream, but consumers can make their own purchases based on their own set of beliefs," he explained.

Mr Greenfield, who admitted that he had no idea how much profit a tub of his ice cream makes or how much it sells for, said that it was a "cop out" for companies to say that they simply made products for profits.

"The more caring Ben & Jerry's has been, the more successful it has been," Mr Greenfield said. "It's good for business."