10th anniversary of Fairtrade Garstang
On Saturday 24 April, people from across the UK, Europe and beyond converged on a small, sleepy market town in the North West to celebrate ten years of Garstang and the Fairtrade Town movement. The event marked a decade since Garstang declared itself a Fairtrade Town in which time over 800 Fairtrade Towns have sprung up across 19 countries led by 480 Fairtrade Towns, Villages, Islands, Boroughs, Counties and Zones in the UK. View a gallery of photos from the event by Fairtrade Haworth's John Sargent and read the press release.
Garstang - the world's first Fairtrade Town
It all started when the Garstang Oxfam group led a local campaign to encourage more people, churches, schools and businesses to back a fairer, more just way of trading by using Fairtrade products. At a public meeting in April 2000, the people of Garstang – residents, ministers, students and business owners – voted to make Garstang a Fairtrade Town. The Town Council responded and passed a resolution in support of Fairtrade. Watch a short video with the person who knows it best, Bruce Crowther – founder of Garstang Fairtrade Town and Fairtrade Town Advisor with the Fairtrade Foundation.
In ten years of being a Fairtrade Town, Garstang has spread the word through Fashion Shows, Flask Mobs, video links with Ghana, a Big Fairtrade & Local Lunch and even a Fairtrade Way with campaigners walking from Garstang to Keswick Fairtrade Town in the Lake District, stopping only at Fairtrade Towns and Villages along the way.
A growing movement
Following Garstang’s declaration, the Fairtrade Foundation created a set of five Fairtrade Town goals through which any community, large or small could achieve Fairtrade status. The
480 Fairtrade Towns in the UK are at the heart of a unique people’s movement involving over
6,000 Fairtrade Churches, over
115 Fairtrade Universities and Colleges and nearly
4,000 schools working towards Fairtrade status. Joining the UK in calling for fairer trade practice and policy is a growing, global movement of Fairtrade Towns springing up in Germany, France, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Spain and many other countries. Find out more and join the international network
here.
Congratulations
Read messages from Fairtrade Town fans across the world and add your message below.
View a letter of congratulations to Fairtrade Garstang by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.