Fairtrade Denominational Areas
Background
More than 4000 churches have gained Fairtrade Church status and pledged to promote Fairtrade to their congregations and beyond. This support is one of the reasons why Fairtrade sales are increasing 40% year on year, allowing more than 7 million farmers, workers and their families to benefit from Fairtrade.
In many cases churches are grouping together to give strength to their Fairtrade campaign and becoming Fairtrade Denominational Areas. If your churches would like to take part, there are five goals which your diocese, district, presbytery, circuit, association or other area needs to meet in order to apply for Fairtrade status.
The five goals
To qualify, your denominational area council needs to agree to:
- Support and promote Fairtrade, further encourage the use and sale of Fairtrade products and to serve only Fairtrade coffee and tea at meetings it is responsible for.
- Ensure that at least one half of the churches or places of worship in your denominational area have become a ‘Fairtrade Church’
- Encourage other local churches, parishes, circuits etc. to adopt a Fairtrade policy. As far as possible, display literature advertising the fact that Fairtrade products are used and served there.
- Attract further media coverage and continue raising awareness of the FAIRTRADE Mark. If possible, make reference to denominational area’s Fairtrade status on the relevant website.
- Set up a Fairtrade steering group to take responsibility for monitoring that goals continue to be met and developed over time.
How to apply
Your denominational area needs to meet the Five Goals
to achieve status and then complete and send a completed Fairtrade Denominational Area Application Form together with accompanying evidence for each goal to the Fairtrade Foundation. The application form outlines the evidence you need to provide for each goal.
Once you have achieved Fairtrade status for your diocese, you will receive a certificate from the Fairtrade Foundation to display in a prominent place. You need to renew your Fairtrade status annually. You will receive a letter informing you of the renewal date two months beforehand.
For any queries please read our Frequently Asked Questions page or contact faithgroups@fairtrade.org.uk.
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