1000 Churches Now Have Fairtrade Status

A church in York has become the 1000th in the UK to achieve ‘Fairtrade Church’ status from the Fairtrade Foundation. Copmanthorpe Methodist Church receives this accolade for promoting the Fairtrade message among churchgoers and the wider community.

The Fairtrade Churches movement started in May 2004 and the idea has quickly gained popularity among churches of different denominations across the country. The scheme also includes cathedrals, parishes and dioceses.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, says: “We are delighted to welcome Copmanthorpe Methodist Church as our 1,000th Fairtrade Church – and we congratulate as well the other 999 for putting their vision and commitment into practice. This shows how quickly word is spreading all over the UK about Fairtrade.”

The church, which has a 250 strong congregation, successfully fulfilled the three essential requirements needed to achieve Fairtrade status. These are serving Fairtrade tea and coffee at all its meetings, making a commitment to using other Fairtrade products such as sugar, biscuits and fruit, and promoting Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and through other activities.

Janet Wright, Fairtrade Co-ordinator at the church, says: “I think it’s amazing that there are 1,000 churches which have been declared Fairtrade and we are really pleased to be the thousandth.”
The church is situated in the village of Copmanthorpe, four miles south of York. It runs a monthly Fairtrade stall which boasts an ever-widening range of products and has organised other activities including a display about Fairtrade at the local library.

Tearfund, the Christian relief and development agency, and the Methodist Relief and Development Fund have devoted a great deal of effort alongside the Fairtrade Foundation to make the Fairtrade Churches scheme a success.
Other Fairtrade Churches include Coventry Cathedral, St Mary’s RC Cathedral in Edinburgh, and two others in York – Acomb Baptist Church and the parish of Moor Monkton & Hessay.

The very first Fairtrade Church was Christchurch & St Mark’s in Watford, Hertfordshire, which was awarded Fairtrade status in May last year.
Lesley Wright, Fairtrade representative for Christchurch & St Mark’s, says that since achieving Fairtrade Church status, support for Fairtrade has grown strongly in the community. She says, “We have around 250 people in our congregation and last year we sold £4,000 worth good from the fair trade company Traidcraft, which was a great achievement for us. “There are also two other churches in Watford who are now interested in following our lead in promoting Fairtrade and we hope to inspire them to do so.”

She adds: “We do as much as possible to inform people about Fairtrade. We’ve taken part in a number of local fayres and shows as well as Fairtrade Fortnight and it’s always satisfying when you introduce Fairtrade to someone who hasn’t heard much about it before. “We are celebrating our church’s centenary this year and we will be looking to do more to push the Fairtrade message.”

The Fairtrade Foundation also runs a Fairtrade Towns initiative, where town and cities up and down the country work towards Fairtrade status. Since 2001 more than 100 towns and cities have been registered as Fairtrade Towns after making a substantial commitment to the promotion and uptake of Fairtrade goods, both at local authority level and in shops and businesses in the community.

For further information please contact Margaret Rooke 020 7440 7695 / 0790 44 55 666 or Eileen Maybin 020 7440 7686. Email: media@fairtrade.org.uk or visit www.fairtrade.org.uk

Notes for editors:
• The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 5 million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 49 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body that awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards.

• The Fairtrade Foundation was set up in the early 1990s by agencies including Cafod, Christian Aid, Oxfam and the World Development Movement to respond to the human consequences of collapsing world commodity prices.

• More than 900 retail products now carry the FAIRTRADE Mark, including coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, snacks and biscuits, sugar, honey, fruit juice, fresh fruit, wine and sports balls. Sales of products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark rose by 51% last year to reach £140 million. (Figures for Fairtrade sales are estimated retail values based upon wholesale sales figures reported to the Fairtrade Foundation as part of its auditing process.)

The Fairtrade Foundation, Room 204, 16 Baldwin’s Gardens, London EC1N 7RJ.
Tel: 020 7405 5942 Fax: 020 7405 5943 Web: www.fairtrade.org.uk