Fairtrade is booming!

7.57.52pm UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 23rd Feb 2008

Fairtrade is booming in Richmond upon Thames - one of just a handful of London boroughs with Fairtrade status.

The amount of Fairtrade products in local shops has mushroomed, and Richmond Council has applauded traders for their support - and local school children for their growing interest in Fairtrade issues. Fairtrade Fortnight starts on Monday, February 25, and the Council is using the event to raise even greater awareness. In summer 2006 Richmond upon Thames became only the 8th London borough to be awarded Fairtrade Status, just 14 months after residents formed a Fairtrade Steering Group supported by the Council. Since the launch, local residents and businesses haven't rested on their laurels with traders stocking more Fairtrade products than ever before. Since securing its special status, the number of retail outlets in the borough supplying such products has soared by 58%.

There has also been a growing interest among the borough's young people. For example, Queen's Primary School in Kew is the first, and so far only, school to become a Fairtrade school in the borough. Other schools are also seeking this status and are holding Fairtrade stalls and tuck shops during the special fortnight. To encourage more children to get involved in Fairtrade and to raise their awareness the Steering Group is holding a Fairtrade Town Trail. Local children and their parents are asked to find four different shops in their area selling Fairtrade products and to submit the shop details for a prize draw to be held at the end of the Fortnight. The winner will be drawn at the end of March and will receive a hamper of goods supplied by local Fairtrade supplier Go Jumbo and coffee shop Starbucks.

Leader of Richmond Council, Serge Lourie, said:

"The Council has made a firm commitment to Fairtrade and we are very proud of our special status. It is very important that we encourage everyone to buy ethically-traded products wherever possible and local traders have responded with great enthusiasm. It is tremendous that young people are getting involved too. I am thrilled that Queen's School has become the first to achieve Fairtrade status and I expect many others to follow their example. To encourage even more Council staff to back Fairtrade, we are holding a seminar during the Fortnight to encourage them to use Fairtrade products both in the office and at home."