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 You’ve probably heard at least something Fairtrade. You’ve probably seen
the logo knocking about, or your mum and dad might even use some of the
products.
But how much do you know about it, and how can you get involved? The
LINC Online met up with Caroline Shevelan to find out more.
What’s it all about then?
The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on
products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the
developing world are getting a better deal.
The 48 least developed countries in the world are host to 10 per cent of
the world’s population and have just a 0.4 share in world exports. By
comparison, the US and EU contain round about the same number of people,
yet claim up to 50 per cent of world exports.
This means that traders in smaller countries just can’t compete with
larger, wealthier nations, and end up loosing out as a result. This is
something that Fairtrade are looking to resolve.
“The fair price of the product is the main benefit of Fairtrade because
it enables progress,” says Caroline “Take coffee for example. There’s a
lot of coffee on the market so prices fall [meaning smaller countries
can’t compete], with the stable price of Fairtrade, producers in
developing countries get a fair price.
“A certain chunk of the money that the farmer gets goes back into his
local community.
“It also ensures that he looks after his workers, providing healthy
living conditions, and that children are not exploited.”
 Fairtrade in Wigan
“It’s one of those things that different people have looked into at
different times, but that kept getting left because it’s such a big
job,” Caroline says on the launch of the Wigan Borough Co-op Members
Fairtrade Group.
Eventually, it took MP Andy Burnham passing Caroline’s number on to a
colleague to get the ball rolling and start what was originally intended
to be a campaign to make Lowton & Golborne a ‘Fairtrade Zone’.
Luckily for the rest of the borough, that plan didn’t last long.
“We’d had some interest from other areas of the borough, and realised
that the goals were pretty much the same, so we decided to aim towards
becoming a Fairtrade Borough.”
That was in 2004, and two years later, Wigan Borough is well on its way
to being declared a Fairtrade Borough.
‘There are a number of goals you need to achieve to become a Fairtrade
Borough, and we’ve nearly achieved all of them,” says an optimistic
Caroline.
• To become a Fairtrade Borough, first the local council must pass a
resolution saying that Fairtrade tea and coffee will be served at its
meetings, that they’ll support the Wigan group and promote Fairtrade
during Fairtrade fortnight. So far, so good.
• The second goal is that a certain number of shops and retail outlets
must sell two or more Fairtrade products. With the number of outlets
depending on the population of the area, Wigan needs 30, which it has
with places such as Oxfam and Holland & Barrett stocking the goods.
• The group needs to attract media attention, particularly during
Fairtrade Fortnight, and promote Fairtrade to local community groups,
which they’ve got in hand.
• They also need to work on putting together a directory of all the
places in Wigan Borough where Fairtrade is available. Again, this is in
hand.
• And finally, a certain number of cafes and restaurants within Wigan
Borough must stock at least two Fairtrade products. At time of writing,
Caroline and her group need just one more business to join their cause.
How you can get involved
So, we’ve told you a bit about Fairtrade, what it’s about, and what’s
going on in Wigan, and if this sounds like the sort of thing you’d like
to get more involved in, then Caroline says that any volunteers would be
more than welcome.
“We’d like some young people on the committee. I know they might be
restricted because of transport, but if they wanted to help, we always
need people to help when we do events, like inviting people to taste
samples.
“Young people are normally a lot less bothered about going up to people
and saying ‘here, try this’, which a lot of the adults are a bit more
shy about.
“If they wanted to help with putting up posters around, our main problem
is that we’re all based at one end of Wigan, so if we’re doing something
Borough Wide, getting posters out in the other side of Wigan is quite
tricky. We’d be very happy to have young people on the committee and
[involved in] decision making.
“If young people are interested in campaigning generally, then this is a
good way to start. It might not be the one topic that they’re
particularly interested in, but a lot of people have strong views about
environmental issues, and this is a great way to get good experience.”
If you’d like to get involved, or you’d simply like more information,
contact 07871 191 909, or e-mail
enquiries@wiganfairtrade.org.
Recommended Links:
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www.fairtrade.org.uk
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http://www.wiganfairtrade.org.uk
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