Fairtrade Meeting Choca in Swansea

There were Fairtrade chocolates all round at Swansea's Fairtrade Meeting in the Unitarian Church High Street Swansea this week celebrating the culmination of FairTrade Fortnight. Swansea is a Fair Trade City and Wales is the first Fairtrade nation in the world!

The meeting was arranged by Geraint Davies with special guest speaker Elen Jones the National Co-ordinator for Fairtrade Wales. Elen came hot foot from the day's Wales for Africa International Development Summit in Cardiff missing the Summit dinner with Rhodri Morgan to be with Swansea supporters of Fairtrade and those who wanted to know more.

There are now 4500 Fair Trade products and 40% of schools in Wales are Fairtrade. In essence Fairtrade status allows farmers in the developing world a minimum price for their products - or higher if market prices are higher - in exchange for environmental and quality standards. Consumers pay a price premium in the knowledge that they are providing dignity and self determination for communities in the developing world.

The value of Fairtrade products sold in Britain has now reached £800million and retailers like the Co-operative and Waitrose and even big producers like Nestle are increasingly involved in Fairtrade products. Major brands have continued to adopt the Fairtrade Mark this year including Starbucks, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk and Kit Kats.

"The Fairtrade Movement begun some 25 years ago in Britain supported by our churches so it was fitting to have our meeting in the Unitarian Church. We're keen that the big tea manufacturers should join in and are calling on consumers to write to them to provide encouragement. Swansea shoppers alongside others voting with their purchases are helping families thousands of miles away to have a living income and a dignified future. Many of us already eat Fairtrade chocolate and bananas but its important that Coop Tea doesn't remain the only major tea supporter of Fairtrade." said Labour Parliamentary Candidate Geraint Davies

"We had an enjoyable and informative evening with Fairtrade chocolates all round."

"We also want children and young people's groups like the Scouts to urge their schools if they are not already Fairtrade to get them in on the act and to get their families to write to the retailers and manufactureres in support of Fairtrade."

For more information, as well as other campaign resources, visit www.fairtrade.org.uk

Notes for Editor

• The Government has supported Fairtrade since 1997 with DFID funding and from this year is significantly boosting support by quadrupling funding to £12m over 2010-13 through a joint effort between donors and the global body FLO (Fairtrade Labeling Organisations International).
• UK Government investment will help bring another 1 million producers into the scheme and enable 7 million more people in poor countries to benefit from the better deal offered by Fairtrade.
• Farmers in developing countries will also see twice as much money invested directly back into their local organisations for community projects such as irrigation and clinics through "Fairtrade Premiums".

No country has reduced poverty in the last 30 years without also increasing trade. This is why Labour has led international efforts to secure fairer trade rules. As part of this the government has significantly increased investment in ‘Aid for Trade’, which helps developing countries build their trade capacity. Labour has committed to provide at least £1 billion in each of the next 3 years to aid for trade and growth.

• More than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 58 developing countries now benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
• The Fairtrade Mark is recognised by more than 70% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal.
• The value of Fairtrade goods sold globally should triple to £9 billion a year by 2013.

Despite the global economic downturn, research shows that UK shoppers still see the label as a good deal - nine out of ten of consumers said they were willing to pay extra for a product perceived to be ethical and fair. Every two years for the last ten, UK shoppers have doubled the amount of Fair Trade goods they buy. Seven in 10 UK households purchase Fairtrade goods. There are over 460 Fairtrade-certified producer organisations selling to the UK and 872 to the global Fairtrade system, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.

Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the Fairtrade Mark in the UK including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs &  spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys, cotton wool, olive oil and beauty products.

Over the last year the Fairtrade Mark has expanded to cover the cosmetic products for the first time. Over 130 products with Fairtrade certified ingredients, including lip balms, face masks, body butters and shower gels are now available from Boots, Neal’s Yard, Lush, Essential Care and Bubble & Balm, Visionary Soap Company, Akoma and Urtekram.

Major brands have continued to adopt the Fairtrade Mark this year including Starbucks, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk and Kit Kats.

For more information, as well as other campaign resources, visit www.fairtrade.org.uk