Fairtrade Towns Movement Tops 100

The declaration of Manchester and Salford as the joint 100th Fairtrade Towns this Monday (March 7 2005) is the latest milestone in the phenomenon that the movement for Fairtrade has become.
They will be joining places great and small across the land – from Fairtrade Islands like Jersey and Fair Isle, to Fairtrade Capital Cities, Edinburgh and Cardiff. And Fairtrade Town steering groups in more than 220 other locations – including most London boroughs – are working away, waiting in the wings to get their own communities accredited with Fairtrade status.

To get Fairtrade status, a village, town, borough, city, zone, county or island has to make a substantial commitment to the promotion and uptake of Fairtrade foods, both at local authority level and in shops and businesses in the community (see notes).
By ensuring that local steering groups back Fairtrade, that local councils support Fairtrade and that a percentage of local shops and businesses sell Fairtrade, the Fairtrade Towns movement has played a dynamic role in doubling the sales of products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark in the past two years. The latest figures show a 51% increase from 2003 to 2004, with sales topping £140m. Sales figures for the catering sector have risen even more dramatically by more than 70% year on year.

Pop star, Band Aid co-organiser and anti poverty campaigner Midge Ure has sent a message of support to Manchester and Salford in advance of next week’s celebrations. “Congratulations on being able to declare the 100th Fairtrade Town or in this instance towns! What a superb achievement. Here’s to signing up the next 100.”

The Fairtrade Towns movement was started in 2000 by Bruce Crowther, now the national Fairtrade Towns Co-ordinator for the Fairtrade Foundation. At the time Bruce was a full-time vet and local campaigner in Garstang, which became the world’s first Fairtrade Town.
The idea came to him in the middle of the night. “I think the best ideas do,” says Bruce. “I’m inspired by Thomas Clarkson, the man who led the campaign to abolish the slave trade. He kept a candle and a quill pen by his bed so he could jot down any ideas that came to him, ensuring they were not lost by morning.

“The network of Fairtrade Towns has become a wonderful way of involving people in councils, synagogues, churches, mosques, businesses, shops, supermarkets, cafes, bars - in fact throughout the whole community right across the country. The Towns raise awareness and sales of Fairtrade which both contribute to tackling poverty and improving the lot of marginalised and disadvantaged farmers.”
Bruce adds, “One of the biggest achievements of the steering groups behind Fairtrade Towns has been to crack the complex world of catering and procurement and getting Fairtrade into local authorities, workplaces, schools and Primary Healthcare Trusts.”

The Fairtrade Foundation, which co-ordinates the Fairtrade Towns movement, is responsible for certifying use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on UK products that meet international Fairtrade standards. The Mark is the only independent consumer guarantee of a fair deal for farmers in developing countries. The Foundation also organises Fairtrade Fortnight, an annual awareness-raising campaign. This year, Fairtrade Fortnight runs from March 1 – 13 and will include an estimated 7,500 events around the UK promoting Fairtrade.

Members of Parliament are also backing the Fairtrade movement as it takes their constituencies by storm. Three Early Day Motions have been tabled in the House of Commons, including one by Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, which welcomes the news of the 100th Fairtrade Town and has already gained support from MPs of all parties.

Presentations will be made to Manchester and Salford on Monday by Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. A celebration will be held at New Century House, the Manchester headquarters of the Co-operative Group which has announced its 100th Fairtrade product to be sold in Co-op stores. Representatives from many of the 100 Fairtrade Towns will be present, as well as children representing Manchester and Salford schools.

For more information please contact Fairtrade Foundation media office 020 7440 7695 or 020 7405 5942 x 218

Notes to editor
• For more details of the Manchester and Salford Fairtrade campaign, read the release at http://www.manchester.gov.uk/news/2005/feb/trade.htm or contact Deborah Grace or Rebecca Kennedy, tel: 0161 234 3332
• 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 five million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 49 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
• The five goals to achieve Fairtrade Town status are: local council passes a resolution supporting Fairtrade, and agrees to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at meetings and in its offices and canteens; a range of Fairtrade products are readily available in the area’s shops; Fairtrade products are served in local cafés/catering establishments; Fairtrade products are used by a number of local work places (estate agents, hairdressers etc) and community organisations (churches, schools etc).
• The first 10 Fairtrade Towns were Aberfeldy, Ammanford, Chester, Garstang, Haworth, Leicester, Nailsworth, Strathaven, Stroud and Wells.
• More than 850 retail products now carry the FAIRTRADE Mark, including coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, snacks and biscuits, sugar, honey, fruit juice, fresh fruit, wine, flowers and footballs.
• 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. The first FAIRTRADE Marked product, Green and Black’s Maya Gold chocolate, appeared on the supermarket shelf in 1994; Cafedirect coffee followed soon after.

Fairtrade Towns

1 01/11/2001 Garstang Town
2 13/01/2002 Chester City
3 15/03/2002 Leicester City
4 02/07/2002 Wells City
5 04/07/2002 Ammanford Town
6 25/09/2002 Nailsworth Town
7 11/10/2002 Stroud Town
8 22/11/2002 Haworth Village
9 27/11/2002 Aberfeldy Town
10 27/11/2002 Strathaven Town
11 12/02/2003 Frome Town
12 12/02/2003 Nottingham City
13 13/02/2003 Bolton Town
14 17/02/2003 Derby City
15 20/02/2003 Newcastle-Upon-Tyne City
16 21/02/2003 London, Croydon Borough
17 26/02/2003 Kendal Town
18 02/04/2003 Morpeth Town
19 07/05/2003 Glastonbury Town
20 23/06/2003 Pendle Borough
21 23/06/2003 Stockport Borough
22 14/07/2003 Wrexham Zone
23 22/07/2003 Cherry Burton Village
24 30/07/2003 Paisley Town
25 06/08/2003 Hebden Bridge Zone
26 06/08/2003 Stafford Town
27 21/08/2003 Bridgenorth Town
28 28/08/2003 Criccieth, N. Wales Village
29 02/10/2003 Malvern Town
30 08/10/2003 Bradford-On-Avon Village
31 01/12/2003 Ludlow Town
32 10/12/2003 Bath & N.E. Somerset Zone
33 15/01/2004 Guisborough Town
34 28/01/2004 Linlithgow Town
35 29/01/2004 Fair Isle Island
36 29/01/2004 Millom Town
37 02/02/2004 Faringdon Town
38 02/02/2004 Reading Town
39 01/03/2004 Cardiff City
40 05/03/2004 Aberdeen City
41 05/03/2004 Cambridge City
42 05/03/2004 Doncaster Town
43 05/03/2004 Dundee City
44 05/03/2004 Lancaster City
45 05/03/2004 Leeds City
46 05/03/2004 Liverpool City
47 05/03/2004 Oxford City
48 05/03/2004 Portsmouth City
49 05/03/2004 Southampton City
50 05/03/2004 Wolverhampton City
51 05/03/2004 York City
52 10/03/2004 Stoke-On-Trent City
53 11/03/2004 Thornbury Town
54 12/03/2004 Edinburgh City
55 12/03/2004 Milton Keynes Borough
56 12/03/2004 Stirling City
57 28/04/2004 London, Lambeth Borough
58 29/04/2004 Burntisland Town
59 26/05/2004 Winderemere & Bowness Town
60 04/06/2004 Lewes Town
61 07/06/2004 Taunton Town
62 15/06/2004 Dorking Town
63 19/06/2004 Castle Cary Town
64 24/06/2004 Preston City
65 26/06/2004 Exeter City
66 26/06/2004 Plymouth City
67 06/07/2004 Arundel Town
68 10/08/2004 Lowestoft Town
69 07/09/2004 London, Camden Borough
70 05/10/2004 Minehead Town
71 15/10/2004 Brighton & Hove City
72 19/11/2004 Denbighshire County
73 19/11/2004 Flintshire County
74 02/12/2004 Swansea City&County
75 03/12/2004 Fairlie Village
76 15/11/2004 Dyfi Valley Zone
77 15/12/2004 Dorchester Town
78 06/01/2005 Brampton Town
79 06/01/2005 Chelmsford City
80 11/01/2005 Keswick Town
81 13/01/2005 Dornoch Town
82 27/01/2005 Wiveliscombe Town
83 28/01/2005 Hereford City
84 28/01/2005 Carlisle City
85 02/02/2005 Keynsham Town
86 07/02/2005 Hamilton Town
87 18/02/2005 Matlock & District Town
88 18/02/2005 Jersey Island
89 24/02/2005 Ashbourne Town
90 25/02/2005 Norwich City
91 01/03/2005 Monmouth Town
92 01/03/2005 Aberystwyth Town
93 01/03/2005 Coventry City
94 01/03/2005 Romsey Town
95 03/03/2005 Somerset County
96 04/03/2005 Bristol City
97 04/03/2005 London, Lewisham Borough
98 04/03/2005 London, Kingston Borough
99 07/03/2005 Salford City
100 07/03/2005 Manchester City

For a list of locations currently working towards Fairtrade status, visit Fairtrade Towns List (21.86KB)

For further information please contact the Fairtrade Foundation. Tel: 020 7440 7695 or 020 7405 5942 ext 218, mobile 07734 566079 / 0790 4455666. Email: media.one@fairtrade.org.uk or media@fairtrade.org.uk.
Website: www.fairtrade.org.uk