23rd February – 8th March
London – the world’s largest Fairtrade City
On 23 October, London was declared the largest Fairtrade City in the world. This was the culmination of a drive launched in 2003 by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and backed by current Mayor Boris Johnson, who described the declaration as super news.’ Across the capital, 20 boroughs now have Fairtrade status, five of which are Olympic boroughs. Almost 1,000 retailers and 600 catering outlets now sell a range of products which carry the famous FAIRTRADE Mark.
But as seasoned campaigners will know, the work doesn’t stop after declaration. Sophi Tranchell, chair of the Fairtrade London Steering Committee said:
We hope that people all over London will continue to do their bit by joining their local campaign and getting their schools and workplaces to stock more Fairtrade Marked products.’
Here are some ideas :
Say it with Fairtrade Flowers
The figures
55,000 Workers directly employed in the industry, mainly young women 56.64 Average life expectancy for Kenyans
25% Proportion of cut flowers sold in the EU that come from Kenya
The facts
The first Fairtrade flowers arrived in the UK shops in 2004 and since then the market has grown rapidly, with 83 million stems sold in 2007, bringing enormous benefits to the farms they are sourced from. At Ravine Roses, Fairtrade certified since 2004, Koske Vincent, chair of the Joint Body, outlined the responsibilities of deciding how to invest the Fairtrade premium received by the workers.
It is a very democratic and transparent process. The Joint Body advertises to collect suggestions for the use of the premium from the workers and also from the community, so that gives the elders their opportunity too. We look for projects against certain criteria there must be no duplication, they must be manageable, most people must have voted for them, they must be sustainable.’
Those projects include funding further education for workers and a community shop where the costs of items such as bicycles, solar panels and sewing machines are shared between individuals and the Joint Body.
Workers on flower farms in Kenya face the same challenge of rising food prices as others across the world. The rising cost of food causes hardship for the poorest, because it is that on which they spend the majority (up to 80 per cent) of their income. Selling more of their flowers on the Fairtrade market would help workers like Koske deal with price rises, because being able to invest the Fairtrade premium on projects such as the community shop leaves more money for food from their wages. Although the demand for Fairtrade flowers is increasing, there is still a long way to go.
Shoppers in the UK are sometimes reluctant to buy cut flowers from outside the EU because of concerns about the treatment of workers and the environmental impact of growing and importing flowers. Cut flowers are the only Fairtrade product routinely air freighted, and research suggests that growing and transporting flowers from countries such as Holland is far more energy intensive than those grown in and shipped from Kenya. For more on this, please see www.fairtrade.org.uk/qandaclimatechange.
Under Fairtrade standards flower farms must commit to improving the working and living conditions of their workers beyond the industry’s statutory obligations; workers have the right to join a union for example and they are not allowed to be forced into excessive overtime to deal with peak periods such as Valentine’s Day. The Fairtrade premium makes a huge difference to communities otherwise deprived of opportunities we take for granted, such as secondary education. Finlay Flowers supplies roses and lilies to Sainsburys and Co-op. Workers there chose to use the Fairtrade premium for materials and teacher training to thirty nursery schools in the area. It has also bought books for a secondary school library, provides bursaries for secondary school pupils and three university scholarships.
The opportunities Fairtrade gives workers in Kenya are needed now more than ever. The recent post election crisis displaced thousands of families across the country and highlighted the need for urgent investment in community development projects. At the peak of the violence that tore the country apart, Fairtrade certified flower farms provided shelter, water and security to many of the migrant workers in the worst hit areas. Now that stability has been restored the Fairtrade premium can play a powerful role in bringing the community together and replacing destroyed structures.
Emeritus Kasee, general manager at Ravine Roses says:
We wish more people would buy Fairtrade flowers. This will help us get more services like health clinics, better schools, sports facilities and much more than bringing an immediate improvement to our lives. It is the way to make the most difference in the rural areas.’
As well as the readymade bouquets for sale in supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose, Kenyan grown Fairtrade flowers of all kinds can be found in mail order mixed bouquets from the likes of Next Directory, Interflora and Postal Bouquets.
Single stem Fairtrade flowers, used by florists to make bouquets, will be available in selected independent florists from 2009.
Fairtrade Recipes
Hot Dark Chocolate Fondant [Make it before Lent or save for an Easter treat!] Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
125g (4� oz) butter, diced plus extra for greasing
150g (5� oz) Fairtrade caster sugar, plus extra for coating the ramekins 125g (4� oz) Fairtrade dark chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
35g (1� oz) plain flour
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas Mark 6
Lightly butter four 100ml ramekins or other ovenproof dishes to a maximum size of 150ml (5fl oz) each, and coat the insides of each with 1 tsp caster sugar.
Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl and set it over a pan of barely simmering water. Melt gently and set aside.
Beat the remaining caster sugar and eggs together, then mix in the flour. Fold the chocolate into the egg mixture and pour into the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until risen.
Serve immediately.
This recipe features in the Fairtrade Everyday Cookbook, published by Dorling Kindersley, alongside more than 100 mouthwatering dishes using Fairtrade ingredients, with contributions by supporters, producers and celebrities.
Go Bananas for Fairtrade
Join thousands of people and eat a Fairtrade banana between noon on Friday 6 March to noon on Saturday 7 March to set a world record for the largest number of Fairtrade bananas eaten over a 24 hour period!
The finale of Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 will be a huge event bringing together the whole Fairtrade movement, from producers to school children, with you, the Fairtrade campaigners at its heart. From noon on Friday 6 March to noon on Saturday 7 March, we will attempt to break the world record for Fairtrade banana eating. We were inspired by Ashbourne Fairtrade Town Initiative’s award-winning and record-breaking banana eating event they staged in Fairtrade Fortnight 2008. All over the world, our producer groups, Fairtrade colleagues and supporters will be taking part.
Why bananas?
Bananas symbolise the challenges in international trade. Many people who grow and harvest bananas endure unacceptable working and living conditions, including the suppression of independent trade unions. The workers’ local environment is often ruined by toxic chemicals and intensive farming. But it’s not just banana farmers who face these challenges, it’s millions of farmers and workers in developing countries, on whom we rely for our food and drink and lifestyles. They are kept in poverty by unfair trade rules and poor market access.
One in four bananas bought in the UK is Fairtrade. As part of our strategy, Tipping the Balance, we want to make half of all bananas sold in the UK Fairtrade by 2012. This world record attempt will make it absolutely clear to retailers we all want Fairtrade bananas, for us, for producers, for the planet.
Please join us. We need everyone to play their part to make our message as powerful as possible. http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved
Ready, set, GO FAIRTRADE!
London, Sunday 22 February, 11.00 – 16.00
Remember last year’s Fairtrade Fairground on London’s South Bank? This year’s launch event for Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 will be even bigger. Be there to enjoy the games and activities, stalls and samples, speeches, sports stars and celebrities.
2012 is Olympic year for the UK, so now’s your chance to get in training alongside Olympic heroes, with our sporty games using Fairtrade products. If you’re better at cheering from the sidelines, we need you there to support our NGO partners in their campaign for trade justice, and you’ll also get the chance to meet a few of our producer partners from all over the world who will be chatting about the changes Fairtrade is helping them make for the future of their communities. If all that exercise and excitement gives you an appetite, there’ll be a mouth watering selection of tasty Fairtrade treats to try and buy too.
We want to demonstrate what a passion there is for Fairtrade and make sure that as many Fairtrade products as possible are used in the London 2012 Games. This will show the rest of the world that here in the UK, we are committed to making a difference to farmers and workers in developing countries.
Fairtrade Fortnight