Fair Trade Campaigns

Like debt, Fair Trade is one of the decade's great campaigning success stories.

When the first Fairtrade products arrived on the market, it wasn't at all clear they'd succeed. The food and beverage retail industry is fiercely competitive, the early Fairtrade products cost more than conventional ones - and few thought that consumers would pay the extra for ethical consumption.

And then the till roll campaign, championed by Christian Aid, started. Were you one of the people who saved your receipts . . . helped to gather together those from your church . . . went to the supermarket to make the point -- "This is how much we spend . . . and we want Fairtrade"?

Fairtrade Towns

A second reason was the campaign begun by Bruce Crowther in Garstang, Lancashire. Bruce and the local Oxfam group got the idea of making Garstang a "Fairtrade Town." They thought through criteria that would show that their town supported Fairtrade, convinced local merchants and organisations to participate, and in May 2000 they were crowned the first Fairtrade Town with the blessing of the Fairtrade Foundation.

Today (2009)  there are over 4,000 Fairtrade towns and many more seeking the status -- each with active groups promoting Fairtrade in churches, schools, restaurants, shops and government offices. In our area alone Abingdon, Banbury, Chesham, Faringdon, Leighton/Linslade, Maidenhead and Windsor, Milton Keynes, Newbury, Oxford, Reading and Slough are all Fairtrade Towns, and Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Bicester, Grove, Wallingford, Witney and Woodstock have active Fairtrade campaigning going on. To find out more about how to become a Fairtrade town, click here.

Fairtrade Denominational Bodies, Churches, Schools, etc.

In 2003, when Chester became a Fairtrade Town, the Anglican Diocese of Chester decided to affirm its support for the initiative also, by becoming a Fairtrade Diocese, adapting the five criteria for a Fairtrade Town to the diocesan structure. Other denominational bodies soon followed their lead. To see some sample criteria for a Fairtrade denominational body, click here.

Today there are Fairtrade Church campaigns, Fairtrade School campaigns, Fairtrade University campaigns, and more.

If you would like to join a local group -- or set up one -- and would like assistance, contact CCOW. We have worked with a number of towns and churches on their campaigns -- and would be delighted to work with you.

Pictures courtesy of the Fairtrade Foundation, www.fairtrade.org.uk