Fairtrade Fortnight runs from 21 February to 6 March and is run by the Fairtrade Foundation.
We are all familiar with the Fairtrade mark, Fairtrade coffee, crafts and an increasing range of many other products. The Fairtrade Premium – the extra payment to producers that can fund all manner of local community initiatives, from clean water to education and employment opportunities – is a very real way that our consumption can make a material difference to poor producers on the other side of the world.
Being a Fairtrade Church and running a Fairtrade stall is one important step we can all take. But Fairtrade is also about the way our global economy works, making our markets accessible to producers from poorer nations. In early 2023 the UK government introduced the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which seeks to lower or remove tariffs on a wider range of products from low income
countries, a step welcomed by the Fairtrade Foundation. The scheme also promotes best practices by linking membership of the scheme to compliance with international agreements on the environment and climate.
This Fairtrade Fortnight, join in by spreading a simple message: choose Fairtrade now and help save our favourite foods.
Climate change is making crops like cocoa, bananas and coffee harder and harder to grow. Combined with deeply unfair trade, communities growing these crops are being pushed to the brink.
But more of us choosing Fairtrade means extra income, power, and support for those communities, as they work to build sustainable and prosperous futures. So not only is choosing Fairtrade best for people and planet, it could help save everyday treats like chocolate, bananas and a hot cuppa!
Find out more at: www.fairtrade.org.uk.
