‘What does the Lord require of us: to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God’ Micah 6:8.
Fairtrade is making a real difference to the lives of more than 7 million farmers, workers and their families in 59 developing countries.
Faith groups are key supporters of Fairtrade and thousands of churches making the connection between trade and poverty, and committing to using Fairtrade products including tea, coffee, sugar and biscuits over the past 25 years has formed a central pillar of the Fairtrade movement.
Churches organise hundreds of events throughout the year – particularly during the annual Fairtrade Fortnight as well as including prayers and readings about Fairtrade in their worship.
Many churches from a range of denominations have also worked to have their support of Fairtrade officially recognised by achieving Fairtrade Church status.
Read more about the benefits of buying products with the FAIRTRADE Mark
How to become a Fairtrade Church
To be part of the campaign by becoming a Fairtrade Church, please register with us. Your church must commit to:
- Use Fairtrade products wherever possible (at least tea, coffee and sugar) and to share this information with congregants.
- Celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight and integrate Fairtrade into the life of your place of worship through other faith-based holidays, sermons and services.
- Engage with other Fairtrade campaigns and connect with community groups, such as schools and towns, where possible.
You can now commit to the Fairtrade Place of Worship scheme online. Please email us at faiths@fairtrade.org.uk with your church’s address and postcode to receive your personalised form.
Once your application has been processed, we will send you a Fairtrade Church certificate to display in your church.
Read the Places of Worship Recomittment Guide (pdf).
How you can show your support for Fairtrade
There are lots of other ways you can support Fairtrade and make a real difference to promoting the fight for justice in international trade. We can also offer lots of advice, support and promotional materials to help you.
- Check out our list of resources and activities – email us at volunteer.faiths@fairtrade.org.uk if you have something to add.
- Find worship resources from partner organisations, especially Christian Concern for One World, CAFOD, Traidcraft, URC Commitment for Life and All We Can
- Sign up to the Fairtrade Churches e-newsletter that contains all the latest news and information about events and products, which will be of interest to Fairtrade Churches and those working towards status.
- If you would like to purchase Fairtrade products such as Fairtrade tea, coffee or sugar for your church please visit our Buying Fairtrade pages for a full listing of products available.
- If you would like to order promotional materials to support your campaign, you can order materials online or call 020 7440 7676.
If you have a question regarding Fairtrade Churches, please contact us.
Links to other organisations
The Fairtrade Foundation Churches scheme is supported by lots of church based organisations committed to the principles of the Fairtrade Foundation.
These organisations promote Fairtrade Fortnight every year through their own campaigns, events and materials to help their supporters and churches support Fairtrade.
Having these organisations supporting the Fairtrade Churches scheme makes a powerful statement that the leading Christian organisations and NGOs in the UK support Fairtrade as a key solution to making trade fairer for developing countries.
Christian Concern for One World
URC (Commitment for Life)
USPG – Anglicans in World Mission