 What is Fairtrade?
THE NEED FOR FAIRTRADE
Millions of small farmers depend on selling their crops to survive, but its a risky business when commodity prices drop it can spell disaster for farmers. If they earn less than it costs to run the farm they face real hardship struggling to buy food or keep their children in school. Ultimately they may loose their lands and their livelihood.
By buying Fairtrade certified products (that is products that carry the Fairtrade Mark) you’re giving farmers a chance to sell their products at a stable price that covers their costs and also enables them to support their families and invest in a better future.
THE FAIRTRADE MARK
The Fairtrade Mark guarantees farmers and plantation workers the opportunity to improve their lives. This is because the Fairtrade price includes a premium, which is set aside for farmers to spend on social and environmental projects or to strengthen their organisations. This ensures communities have the power and resources to invest in long-term improvement. Decisions on how the premium is spent are taken democratically by Joint Bodies - committees of elected farmers and workers.
When you buy a product carrying the Fairtrade Mark, you know it has been independently certified to meet standards set by the Fairtrade Foundation, which is an independent body that awards the Fairtrade Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards. The Fairtrade Mark is not a brand. You will find it on more than a hundred different companies products.
Today, more than 5 million farmers, workers and their families across 49 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade standards
To find out more log onto www.fairtrade.org.uk
How can we support Fairtrade?
SHOPPING
Look for the Fairtrade Mark when you go shopping. The major supermarkets all sell Fairtrade Marked products, such as tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, bananas and wine.
As consumers we can influence supermarkets. The more Fairtrade products we buy the more incentive it will be for shops and supermarkets to stock Fairtrade products.
Our Churches FAIRTRADE Stalls
There are Fairtrade stalls at St. Edmund’s Church on the 1st Sunday of each month (after the 9.15am service) and at All Saints’ Church the Fairtrade Stall on the 3rd Sunday of the month after the 10.00am service
There we stock a very wide range of products, such as :-
- Tea, coffee, cocoa, drinking chocolate, chocolate bars, geobars, fruit cake.
- Sugar, rice, pasta, dried fruit, muesli, honey, jam and marmalade.
- Nuts, dried apricots, pineapple and mango.
- Toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, greetings cards, writing paper and envelopes.
We can also take orders from the Tradecraft catalogue.
This is a wider range than shops stock at present, though hopefully this will change (see consumer influence above!)
By buying Fairtrade products we are working to reduce world poverty and help the growers of our food to have a better life.
SUPPORT FAIRTRADE!
For further information on Traidcraft, visit www.traidcraft.org.uk
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