The town of Bicester in Oxfordshire on November 1, 2010 became the UK’s 500th Fairtrade Town and joins a growing international Fairtrade Towns movement which now spans 19 countries and unites capital cities such as Rome, Brussels, Paris and London with small market towns and remote Scottish Islands.
A group of 14 Fairtrade supporters in Bicester have been working for the last four years to make their town a Fairtrade Town and now have the added bonus of hitting the 500th mark. The group has worked hard to meet the five goals required for Fairtrade Towns status. These include getting local workplaces and community organisations to use Fairtrade products whenever possible, including a flagship employer. In fact, they went one better and their campaign succeeded in getting regional rail company Chiltern Railways to switch all their onboard coffee and hot chocolate to Fairtrade. The campaign group has also been working with local faith groups and schools, with the result that two thirds of local churches are now using Fairtrade. Half of local schools have also been actively supporting the campaign.
Colin Cockshaw from the Bicester Fairtrade Steering Group said: ‘Being number 500 is really great. It has been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. The town campaign has brought people of all ages together in a community-building task which we hope will be of lasting benefit to Bicester. We also hope that this achievement provides a platform for future growth in the use of Fairtrade products in our town and of local people’s understanding of the difference that buying Fairtrade can make.’
The Fairtrade Towns movement was launched 10 years ago when Garstang in Lancashire declared itself the world’s first Fairtrade Town at a public meeting in April 2000. Five goals were then developed through which any community could make a collective commitment to Fairtrade. Since 2000, the grassroots movement has swelled to include 6,000 Fairtrade Faith groups; almost 5,000 schools registered in the Fairtrade Schools Scheme; and 127 Fairtrade Universities and Colleges.
Harriet Lamb CBE, Executive Director for the Fairtrade Foundation, says: ‘Congratulations to Bicester for becoming the 500th Fairtrade Town and to all the Fairtrade campaigners who have been involved in this extraordinary grassroots movement that has been one of the outstanding phenomena of the decade. Through their tireless campaigning they have won the hearts and minds of consumers and helped Fairtrade sales in the UK grow. Fairtrade Towns have helped to tip the balance in favour of some of the poorest producers in the world and we hope that with the continued growth in Fairtrade Towns internationally we will see similar successes across Europe and beyond.’
People in Bicester will join in celebrations with hundreds Fairtrade campaigners gathering in Cardiff via a live satellite link. This event is the culmination of a 10-day, 500-mile relay bicycle ride to celebrate this milestone. The cyclists set off from Aberfeldy, the joint first Fairtrade Town in Scotland on Saturday 23 October. Fairtrade campaigners have been passing the baton, a ceremonial parchment, to cyclists from 10 other prominent Fairtrade Towns including, Garstang (the world’s first Fairtrade Town), and; Chester (the world’s first Fairtrade City), before arriving in Cardiff (the world’s first Fairtrade capital city), this afternoon. The baton has been carried by the lead cyclists on each leg of the journey and signed at special celebratory events held each day along the route.
One of the cyclists arriving in Cardiff is Bruce Crowther, the Garstang vet who had the original idea of starting the Fairtrade Towns movement and now is the Fairtrade Towns Advisor. ‘This milestone is a tremendous achievement that should be enjoyed and celebrated, especially by the grassroots campaigners that made it happen. But our campaign is a long journey and we are now looking forward to the next 500 towns.’
Fairtrade campaigners are using this event to ask their MPs to sign an Early Day Motion (EDM), calling on the government to reaffirm it’s commitment to supporting the continued growth of fair and ethical trade in the UK. More than 58 MPs across all parties have so far signed the EDM.
An independent evaluation of the impact of the European Fairtrade Towns Movement undertaken on behalf of the Fairtrade Foundation last year found clear examples of ‘the uniquely powerful nature of Fairtrade Towns campaigns as a means of securing local and global social change.’ It said that further learning about the Fairtrade Towns movement ‘would be incredibly valuable for informing other sustainable development awareness and action activities and movements’.
The FAIRTRADE Mark is the only label which gives groups of farmers and producers the means to improve their livelihoods through the guaranteed minimum price and additional Fairtrade premium to invest in social, environmental and business projects. Around 7.5 million people (farmers, workers, their families and communities) across 58 countries in the developing world benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
Towns, Cities, Villages, Islands, Boroughs, Counties and Zones can achieve Fairtrade status by meeting five goals set by the Fairtrade Foundation. For simplicity all these places are referred to as Fairtrade Towns. The five goals to achieve Fairtrade Town status are: the local council passes a resolution supporting Fairtrade and agrees to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at its meetings and in its offices and canteens; a range of Fairtrade products is readily available in the area’s shops and catering establishments; Fairtrade products are used by a number of local work places and community organisations (churches, schools etc); media coverage and popular support is encouraged for the campaign; and a local Fairtrade Steering Group is convened to ensure commitment to Fairtrade Town status. To find out more about Fairtrade Towns and to see a full list of declared Towns in the UK visit www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved_fairtrade_towns.htm
Source: Fairtrade Foundation
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