The Fair Trade Towns movement started in April 2000 in Garstang (pop. 5,000) in north-west England. By 2011 it had grown rapidly to feature 1,000 Fair Trade Towns in 21 other countries.

Only six years later, in October 2017, the global list of Fair Trade Towns had reached 2,000! The number of countries where campaigning around the Fair Trade Town idea was taking place had, by then, reached 33 (Belgium/Flanders and Belgium/Wallonia being counted separately).

The current list, in March, 2019 is here.