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Feb 23, 2021

Fairtrade Fortnight #21 is upon us!

Monday 22nd February marked the start of Fairtrade Fortnight: two weeks dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the Fairtrade Foundation. Fairtrade has been an issue that I have spent years campaigning on, so this is one of my favourite times of the year! This one will be a little different - so here's what you can do to get involved.


So what is Fairtrade?


"The idea of Fairtrade is to put fairness in to the system..."

In lower economically developed countries, there are people such as farmers who work extremely hard to carry out their jobs, but receive little pay. Big companies often exploit their situations, and as a result, these farmers are often left struggling to pay rent and provide for their families, despite having a job. The idea of Fairtrade is to put fairness in to the system - the products you buy as a consumer may be slightly more expensive, but this will ensure that the farmers are being paid a fair wage for their job. Fairtrade is about thinking of others before making purchases, doing what is ethically right.



My work with the Foundation


" I was lucky enough to have met with Mike Gidney, the CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation..."

In secondary school, I was an avid campaigner and was a Fairtrade Co-ordinator with a couple of friends. Together as a team, we ran informative presentations about the need for Fairtrade and did numerous fundraising activities. We also received the FairAware, FairActive and FairAchiever awards for our school, demonstrating the difference we had made in our community. I was lucky enough to have met with Mike Gidney, the CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation, to showcase our work which was seen as an example to other schools to encourage the normality of Fairtrade products in daily life. At college, I joined the Fairtrade group and continued to fundraise - here is me as a Fairtrade banana at one of our stalls!





2021 - Fairtrade and the Climate


"It is times like these when our fundraising efforts are most needed..."

This year, I would have been busy with fundraising activities and posters for Fairtrade Fortnight at university, but of course, the situation has forced us to rethink our strategy. Many of the events and promotion will be virtual as a result. This year's focus is Fairtrade and the Climate, quite fitting as I do climate activist work. The climate is intricately linked with Fairtrade; as conditions worsen globally, with the pandemic and the environment, more people in lower economically developed countries become reliant on Fairtrade as a way of coping to survive. In countries like the UK, families are suffering due to being out of work, and therefore may choose to omit Fairtrade products for cheaper ones. It is times like these when our fundraising efforts are most needed, to support those who are worse off.


What you can do


1) Small changes matter so much - individually we are a drop, together we are an ocean. Instead of a chocolate bar, buy a Fairtrade chocolate bar. Chances are, you may already be consuming Fairtrade products (Cadbury's has a lot of Fairtrade approved products, check the back of the bar for the symbol!)


2) Research - find out why Fairtrade is so important and how it saves the lives of others. This doesn't have to be pages for an essay; anything you can learn to further your understanding of the issue. Just ensure your sources are reputable!


3) Talk - to your friends/family and anyone who will listen! Talking about Fairtrade and people's opinions on it can help you understand about the issue and learn different perspectives. How many of your friends buy Fairtrade bananas or coffee? You could even host a debate or discussion for your friends.


4) Action - I recently signed up to apply for the Youth for Fairtrade group, as I would love to join other campaigners in working together to raise awareness and make Fairtrade the norm. You can set up your own Fairtrade group in your school or youth group. All you need is enthusiasm for the issue, and a teacher willing to supervise!



Conclusion

The Fairtrade Foundation has so many great events planned for the next two weeks. There are resources for you to tweet and post on social media, as well as toolkits to run your own Fairtrade group all available on their website (see link below). I encourage you to sign up to an event and give it a go! And of course, if you are able to, please do make a donation to the Fairtrade Foundation to help support their efforts now more than ever. Fairtrade is such an valuable cause, and I hope this article has helped you to see how significant it is to everyone's life.







*Helpful Links

Check the official website for info on all the upcoming events, how you can get involved and access to brilliant resources!


*This article is not sponsored by the Fairtrade Foundation but purely the opinions of the author


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