Fairtrade Campaigner Honoured by the Queen
Cheshire Fairtrade campaigner Hilary Thomson has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for voluntary service to Fairtrade.
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| Hilary – with members of the Fairtrade Borough Steering Group and players from the Warrington Wolves rugby team. |
A long standing supporter of Fairtrade, Hilary has been selling Fair Trade products and speaking about Fair Trade since 1989. She established the Fair 4 All shop on Warrington Market with two friends and fellow campaigners (Jackie Hancock and Diz Banyard) in 2002. The shop, which is a workers co-operative, is a hub of Fairtrade activity in Warrington, and supplying schools and churches in the area with Fairtrade products.
‘During the time I have been involved, the FAIRTRADE Mark has been developed, products have gone into the supermarkets and awareness and support have grown massively, as have overall sales.’
Hilary also paid tribute to the many other committed campaigners behind the success of Fairtrade, including her husband:
‘I was completely shocked when I got the letter to tell me I had the award... there are lots of others like me... but pleased that Fair Trade has been seem as important enough to merit it.’
‘My husband also put in a lot of hours, not only looking after our daughter when I was out in the evenings, but moving boxes of stock, climbing over them in the house, and modelling clothes at Fairtrade fashion shows.’
Warrington was first awarded Fairtrade Town status in 2006, which meant that the council, retailers, catering outlets, schools, churches and community groups are recognised as actively supporting Fairtrade by campaigning and using products with the FAIRTRADE Mark.
Adam Gardner, Fairtrade Towns Officer at the Fairtrade Foundation said: ‘Congratulations Hilary for your award and thank you for tirelessly campaigning for Fairtrade. Fairtrade is a unique alliance of farmers, campaigners, companies and retailers, and with help from dedicated campaigners like Hilary we can take steps towards realising our vision of a Fairtrade lifestyle for the public here and a better future for farmers in the developing world.’
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Eileen Maybin
Head of Media Relations
020 7440 7686/07770 957 451
eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk
Martine Julseth
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 7695/07825 827 791
martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk
Faith Mall
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 8597/07766 504 947
faith.mall@fairtrade.org.uk
Notes to Editors
1. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label is now recognised by 72% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs & spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys, cotton wool and olive oil.
3. 7 in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods, including an extra 1.3 million more households in 2008, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated £700m in 2008, a 43% increase on the previous year. There are over 460 producer organisations selling to the UK and by the end of October 2008 872 certified producer groups were in the global Fairtrade system, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.
More information on Fair 4 All here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFiIcysUNg&feature=player_embedded