A Fairtrade Town is a community that makes a collective commitment to Fairtrade and achieves Five Goals developed by the Fairtrade Foundation. The movement began in April 2000 when Garstang in Lancashire - uniting local shops, businesses, schools, campaigners, councillors and faith groups - declared itself “the world’s first Fairtrade Town”. Since then over 350 towns, cities, counties, villages, boroughs and islands from Glasgow to Guildford have achieved Fairtrade status and added their voice to the call for fairer trade systems. Growing demand for Fairtrade and resulting increases in sales of Fairtrade products mean that over seven million people – farmers, workers and their families – can now benefit from a fair and stable price and an additional premium to invest in projects that benefit the entire community.
Fairtrade Town activists work to ensure even more farmers and workers can benefit and show that everyday people can make an extraordinary difference. From coffee-mornings to fashion shows, banana-eating challenges to petitions, Fairtrade Towns are coming together to challenge the dominant world trading system.
For more information about Fairtrade and Fairtrade Towns, please contact: 020 7405 5942; http://www.fairtrade.org.uk
Topics: Global south, International solidarity
See more of: Campaign profile