Fairtrade
Fairtrade Borough Group
Annual review 2009/10
It has been another good year in the life of the group, culminating in the successful renewal of the Borough’s Fairtrade status, which was obtained in April. This is great news. The Fairtrade Foundation was very complimentary about the work that we do and the progress we have made. We will next have to renew in the spring of 2012.
Our work with the Borough Council was given a boost this year by the support we received from council leader Cllr Seán Woodward. The Council now has an official representative on the working group, Cllr Pam Bryant, whose presence is already proving very useful and positive. We were invited to have a Fairtrade stand at all six of the Summer 2010 Community Action Team meetings across the borough, which have been fruitful in reaching more people with the message of Fairtrade. The Hampshire County Councillors representing Fareham have also been very supportive.
The year has seen a big increase in the number and range of Fairtrade products which are available in shops throughout the borough. To a large extent this is due to major brands, and big retailers’ own brands, becoming Fairtrade: for example four-finger Kit Kats and Sainsbury’s Red Label tea. And it’s not just food: more and more clothes retailers are turning to Fairtrade cotton, and Fairtrade cosmetics and other beauty products are starting to become available. However, there is still room for individuals and groups to put pressure on their local store to stock more Fairtrade items; so please keep doing so!
We have received great support from the Southern Co-Operative group, which is based in Fareham. They have been generous with vouchers to enable us to offer free Fairtrade samples at our events, and also gave us a grant of £655 to buy a set of display boards.
We have continued our extensive work with schools, running assemblies and workshops, and helping teachers to work Fairtrade into the curriculum. We have also given talks to various community groups. We are always glad to do more of these, so if your school or community group would like us to come along please contact me. Faith groups throughout the borough also continue to support Fairtrade in a big way: mostly these are churches, although we have also made good links with the local Muslim congregation.
Fairtrade Fortnight, in late February and early March, was most successful, with a variety of displays and stalls. Our main stall, in Fareham Shopping Centre, was supported by the Mayor of Fareham, the leader of the council, and Mark Hoban MP, and attracted a lot of interest. We also sold a number of our unique Fairtrade cotton shopping bags, proclaiming that Fareham is a Fairtrade Borough – these are still available, priced at a very reasonable £2.
We have enjoyed increasingly close co-operation with other local Fairtrade groups. We attended events in Gosport, Eastleigh and Winchester, and together with several local groups we hosted a visit by Vinay Devaiah, a Fairtrade tea producer from India, who was able to share first-hand experience of the difference Fairtrade makes where it matters – in poor communities in the developing world.
When you buy Fairtrade, you are making a real difference. You are enabling people who have very little to earn a living, invest in their community, and take a big step out of poverty and into a fulfilled and dignified life. Thank you for your support.
Rachel Hicks
chair@fftb.org.uk 01329 312895