Town celebrates its hard-won Fairtrade accolade (From Gazette & Herald)

Town celebrates its hard-won Fairtrade accolade

11:13am Thursday 15th May 2008

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PICKERING has officially been declared a Fairtrade town.

For the past 18 months, campaigners have been tirelessly promoting products such as tea, coffee and chocolate, sold under the international Fairtrade trademark.

Goods bearing the logo guarantee that Third World growers have been given a fair price for their products and company profits are ploughed back into lifesaving social projects.

In the past, farmers in countries such as Kenya, Bangladesh and Columbia, who sell their raw goods to large multi-national buyers, were paid a lower price, trapping families in a cycle of poverty.

Chairman of the Pickering campaign, Judy Dixon, said buying their products helps the whole community as well as the grower.

"Buying Fairtrade products gives Third World growers a better deal and gives them the power lift them and the who community out of poverty," she said.

"Profits are also used to fund community projects such as building medical centres and schools. Just giving money to charity doesn't help them to help themselves.

"We are delighted we have fitted the criteria to become a Fairtrade town but we cannot rest on out laurels. This status can be taken from us if our support for the campaign dwindles. So this is just the start."

On Saturday town mayor Julie Hepworth was presented with a certificate to mark their achievement at a special ceremony at the town's WRVS centre.

She said to achieve the sought-after status the group had to garner support from the town council, local retailers and churches.

"The Pickering Fairtrade group has made the town aware of the global issues surrounding the campaign and the impact on poorer countries," she said.

"Pickering Town Council fully supports the initiative and this new-found status has given the town a massive boost.

"We will continue to buy Fairtrade products and this has made us think about other things we can do to improve the world.

"Residents have approached me with the idea to make the town a plastic bag-free zone, which is something we will be looking at in the future."

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