Painswick officially declared a Fairtrade town

Congrats to Painswick which has been officially declared a Fairtrade town after a four-year local campaign. The community now has enough shops and businesses offering Fairtrade products to meet the criteria for the status.

As regular blog readers will know the Fairtrade movement aims to give economically-disadvantaged producers from developing countries a fair price for their goods. Already locally Nailsworth and Stroud have signed up a while ago. You can read my comment to the papers about fairtrade from a couple of years ago here.

I remember well that when I was recovering from serious illness I got involved with the campaign in Nailsworth - and enclose below one of my first ever news releases - to get the press interested we turned it into a race between Nailsworth and Stroud for Fairtrade status - Nailsworth just won! More recently I ended up researching Fairtrade in London for a Green Hackney councillor to see if the last few Boroughs could be persuaded to make London completely Fairtrade - the campaign now has it's own website here: http://www.fairtradelondon.org.uk/

Anyhow it was very sad news to hear that Stroud will loose Bishopston Trading - a great shop - they will keep their other stores but Strouds will close - this is on top of the two Fairtrade shops closing in Nailsworth a year or more ago - the good news is that there is a lively bunch of folks who are working to put together another Fairtrade shop in Stroud. Good luck to them - we need such examples to make people aware of the unfairness of most of our trade.

Fairtrade has come a long way indeed - and it is also great to see them tightening up on their eco-criterias - although they do need to go further - read Guardian article here.



STROUD AND NAILSWORTH RACE TO BECOME FIRST FAIRTRADE TOWN IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE 12th May 2002

Both Stroud and Nailsworth Town Councils have passed resolutions supporting Fairtrade. Now to qualify they need to ensure a range of Fairtrade products are readily available in the towns.

Philip Booth, member of the Nailsworth Fairtrade towns group, says, “The race is on between Stroud and Nailsworth to become Gloucestershires’ first Fairtrade town. It will be a matter of who can first meet the criteria laid down by the Fairtrade Foundation. Both of us are well on the way, but I think Nailsworth is likely to get there first. The rules that govern trade are written and policed by the world’s eight richest countries, on behalf of powerful corporations. As consumers in Nailsworth we benefit from the exploitation of workers in many countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. By choosing Fairtrade, people can show their commitment to a fairer world that enables producers to satisfy their basic needs.”

Freya Gledhill of Bishopston Trading and a spokesperson for Strouds’ Fairtrade towns group says,”Getting Fairtrade status wont be the end of it. We want to encourage more businesses and organisations to participate and get the whole of Gloucestershire County involved.”