Fiona’s Speech to the Congleton Fair Trade Event
Saturday 10th March 2012
It is lovely to be asked to speak at today’s event. I will speak, briefly, on the importance of supporting Fairtrade.
As many of you know the Fairtrade movement is about ensuring better prices and working conditions for farmers and workers in the developing world. Launching Fairtrade Fortnight, the foundation said that every day in the UK people consume 9.3 million cups of Fairtrade tea, 6.4 million cups of Fairtrade coffee, 2.3 million Fairtrade chocolate bars, 530,000 cups of Fairtrade drinking chocolate and 3.1 million Fairtrade bananas.
Sales have risen by 40% recently meaning that, last year, more than £1billion worth of Fairtrade sales were made. Britain is now the world’s biggest consumer of the Fairtrade range.
In my constituency Alsager, Congleton and Sandbach all have Fairtrade Town status as well as a number of churches with Fairtrade status and the council is looking to achieve this also. Even schools can apply for Fairtrade status. I congratulate everyone on working hard to achieve this and to raise the profile of Fairtrade.
We do, however, need more businesses and groups who are willing to agree to use only Fairtrade products such as tea, coffee and sugar. To do so would be to follow in the footsteps of large PLCs like Marks and Spencer and coffee house Starbucks. This helps both the Fairtrade movement and your customers who wish to ensure that what they buy is fairly traded.
The Fair-Trade Resource Network gives the top 10 reasons why you should support Fair Trade. Firstly, supporting fair trade means helping farmers and producers get fair pay and better working conditions.
Secondly, Fair Trade is better for the environment as it supports sustainable practices that minimise their environmental footprint.
Thirdly, Fairtrade products are often hand-made and thus a greater attention to detail is made creating a high quality product, which leads nicely into point 4 (perhaps a matter of opinion!) that Fairtrade means better tasting food! Crops are grown and harvested in smaller quantities with the farmers involved at every stage meaning fair-trade food is fresher.
5. Fair trade helps to preserve valuable eco-systems and limits the use of harmful agrochemicals.
6. By working through co-operative structures Fairtrade supports not just individuals but communities as the money earned can help provide housing, healthcare and schools.
7. Fairtrade encourages direct relationships between buyers and producers meaning that the relationships and therefore the trade can be counted on so farmers have a sustainable and reliable income.
8. Since fair-trade products are often artisan they are unique to the people and places that they come from thus they offer a piece of another culture.
9. Fairtrade encourages farmers in the developing world to build their own businesses rather than working for a middle man, so their profits stay with them, their business and their community.
Finally, point number ten, by choosing fair-trade you are making a difference to the lives of people in countries where life can be a daily struggle, with fair-trade what you buy matters.
Results of a recent global study showed that Fairtrade is the most widely recognised ethical label. Six out of ten consumers in the UK (59%) believe their own shopping choices can make a real difference to the lives of farmers and workers in poorer countries and four out of five (83%) say that they look to companies they deal with to help in reducing poverty through the way they do business. These figures show the importance of Fairtrade to the consumer and for that reason I encourage cafes, restaurants and other businesses to become registered users of Fairtrade.
This Fairtrade Fortnight, as I’m sure you know, the Fairtrade Foundation has launched the ‘Take a Step’ campaign and is asking the public to think about what they can do every day, every week or every month throughout 2012 to make a difference to the lives of farmers in the developing world who produce the products they buy – whether that be choosing to buy Fairtrade coffee at a cafe, or adding one or two more Fairtrade products to the weekly shopping, or encouraging others to switch to Fairtrade. I encourage supporters, businesses, community organisations, faith groups, and schools in my constituency to ‘Take a Step’ and to tell others about Fairtrade and what it does.
The Fairtrade Foundation is asking everyone who “takes a step” to register it on their website at www.fairtrade.org.uk/step where steps will be displayed on an interactive 'step-o-meter'. I hope many Congleton residents have their steps displayed on this.
The Fairtrade movement is growing bigger and bigger every year and its growth is due to the hard work of volunteers like you who raise the awareness of the movement with the public. The fact that we now live in the world’s biggest supporter of Fairtrade is testament to the importance local people put on ethical and fair trading with others. I encourage all volunteers to continue their work, encourage those using Fairtrade products to continue to do so and to introduce others to them.
I would like to offer my thanks to all the volunteers here today for their hard work in promoting Fairtrade and to all of you who buy and use Fairtrade products.
