Fairtrade for life not just a fortnight

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Mar

Written by Helen (admin)

Leeds City Council Press Release

Fairtrade Fortnight might have come to an end for 2009 but the fair trade ethic continues all year round in Leeds.

Leeds City Council has supported the principle of Fairtrade for a long time and in 2003 councillors agreed to ‘note the need to improve the economic and social conditions of Third World workers and farmers working for poverty wages in incredibly poor conditions’.

Since then, much has happened. The council has gone completely Fairtrade and now only serves Fairtrade drinks in its buildings, including tea rooms at Tropical World, Golden Acre Park, Temple Newsam, and Lotherton Hall. Vending machines in leisure centres across the city also include a Fairtrade option as well.

In March 2004, Leeds was given ‘Fairtrade City’ status which was only achieved after a long campaign involving the support of many residents and organisations.

These days, council workers who are responsible for the purchasing arrangements in departments for items where a Fairtrade option exists (like tea, coffee, sugar, fruit juice, bananas, chocolate, cereal bars and biscuits must implement Fairtrade principles wherever possible by purchasing a Fairtrade option in preference to a non-Fairtrade one.

As well as reviewing its own purchasing policies, the council has also been promoting the Fairtrade message to the people and firms it does business with. The idea is to encourage other organisations to think carefully about where they buy their products from.

The council’s success has led to the creation of FairtradeYorkshire. It is a unique partnership of the local authorities and other interested public sector who have come together to increase the awareness of Fairtrade and to increase the use of Fairtrade products by councils, businesses and individuals alike.

Councillor Richard Brett, joint leader and executive board member with responsibility for resources said:

“The developing world may seem a million miles from the hustle and bustle of Leeds, and there could be the feeling that there’s not much we can do to support farmers on the other side of the globe.

But – that’s not true – collectively we can make a difference and that’s why I want to encourage people to rethink their product choices and opt for Fairtrade.

This issue is of personal interest to me. In the 1960s when I worked as a lecturer for Voluntary Services Overseas in Kathmandu, I met many of the kind of farmers who are now benefiting from fair trade. I’ve also been helping to run a Fairtrade stall at my church for the last ten years.

It’s fantastic that so many citizens of our city have grasped the nettle, but we could go even further and my ambition would be for the whole of Yorkshire to be declared a Fairtrade region.”

Mill has more exiciting news on fairtrade to come, why not chat about it in our forum and find out more from the brilliant, 'Cats, Coffins and Fairtrade Sextoys'. A with respect far less stuffy approach than LCC can offer, tale of fairtrade from Shared Earth founder Jerermy Piercy.