Making Middlesbrough a

Fairness for the third world

Where to findFairtradeproductsYour guide to who sellsthis in the area

Diary of aFairtradeworkerNioka tells how Fairtradehas become so importantto her life.

Questions &AnswersYour commonly askedquestions answered

Introduct ion to

Many people watched the Live8concerts last summer and alsofollowed the 'Make Poverty History'campaign which took place whenthe leaders of the eight richestcountries in the world met at theG8 summit in Gleneagles. Thereasoning behind this campaignwas simple-we should supportthose in the poorest countries totrade their way out of poverty, by

assisting and encouraging them to export their produce andgive them a fair price and market to do so.

That work has been going on for 20 years through the Fairtrademovement, with increasing success, and this supplement will tellyou more about that work, and about where you can buy Fairtradegoods locally.

Today Middlesbrough is home to over 100 different nationalities. Iwas very proud last summer when our Council agreed unanimouslyto support the 'Make Poverty History' campaign, and to seekFairtrade town status for Middlesbrough. We now serve Fairtradetea and coffee at our meetings and at all Council establishments.We have also established a local steering group and are workingwith interested parties to increase take up of Fairtrade produce.

We want Middlesbrough to be a Fairtrade town. This means gettingmore retail outlets on board and also encouraging morecafes/restaurants, workplaces, schools, churches and communityfacilities to use Fairtrade. I've recently written to some of the nationalretailers to ask them to stock Fairtrade products and the steeringgroup have been actively contacting local businesses.

The quality of Fairtrade produce is of a very high standard. Pleaseask for it in the future and help us make a difference-a real difference.

By Ray Mallon, Mayor of Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is joining the fight to make sure

workers in underdeveloped countries get a fair

deal. This follows on from last year's 'Make Poverty

History' campaign, the G8 summit and Live8

concerts around the globe which gave Fairtrade

a new impetus.

Awareness was raised on a worldwide scale and

people started to really notice what was going on

in underdeveloped countries. Now Middlesbrough

Council has decided to join this crusade and is

seeking Fairtrade status for the town.

This ambition is being driven by a steering group

involving the Council, Middlesbrough Town Centre

Company, Middlesbrough Environment City, the Voluntary Development Agency and various

Fairtrade contacts. Its task is to identify where Fairtrade goods are being sold and try to

increase the number of places which stock and serve such products. Middlesbrough has to

prove it has enough outlets before Fairtrade status can be given to the town.

JOIN THE CRUSADE

Images kindly supplied from The Fairtrade Foundation

A day in the l i fe of a

Scholarships for children

Fairtrade Stockists

Oxfam, Newport Rd, Tel: 01642 221376

Sainsbury’s, 32 Wilson St, Tel: 01642 241188

Somerfield, 469 Linthorpe Rd, Tel: 01642 814263 Larchfield Community, Stokesley Rd, Hemlington, Tel: 01642 593688

Sam’s Place, 144 Linthorpe Rd, Tel: 01642 243729

The Hope Foundation, 1 Grange Rd, Tel: 01642 232220

Comfort Kwaasibea has discovered a newpurpose in her life. She is a member of KuapaKokoo, the largest farming co-op in Ghana.Before the co-op was set up farmers were

often cheatedbecause thescales used toweigh their cropwere not true,and even thenthey would bepaid by chequesthat bounced.Now Comforthas been

elected the recorder for her village and shemakes sure that each member has their cocoaweighed fairly and they are paid right.

Farmers can now afford Wellington boots toprotect themselves from snakes andpoisonous insects when they tend their cocoatrees, and they have used the Fairtradepremium to provide fresh water.Now children aren't exhausted from carryingwater before they go to school, they've hadbreakfast, and the school has a teacher ( whowould want to work in a place without freshwater?) And this is all thanks to a properreward for the quality cocoa they produce.

Women for the first time have a vote, and areenjoying democracy. With a loan from thecredit union they make soap from the cocoapod waste, to provide an income in the hungrymonths between the cocoa harvests.Comfort is a widow in her fifties with two adultchildren. She inherited her cocoa farm of tenacres from her father.

Access to a better education, healthcare andwater supplies are now available in a Ugandancommunity and it's all down to the Fairtradescheme.

A committee was set up to decide how theadditional premium paid for Fairtrade tea, grownin the area, should be spent. Juliet Ntwirenhabo,who was elected to chair the committee, said:“Our first priority was education. We boughtexercise books, pens and pencils for fourchildren in each family.”

"Then we looked at the women who aresuffering a lot in childbirth. Wecould see a woman on a stretcher going togive birth, being carried down from the furthestareas of the mountains. Sometimes six menhave to carry the women 60km-so they arealso not working on their farms. So weconsulted with the government and built amaternity centre with a delivery bed, four beds,cots and chairs, and a solar system forelectricity.“Then the government took it over and broughtin staff and medical supplies.”

“Water is a huge problem: people are fetchingstagnant water. So we built a tank to supply200 families and three schools with drinkingwater. We bought a computer with email forthe factory so that we could communicatebetter; we bought mobile phones because thephone lines don't reach here. This helps uscommunicate with the brokers and buyers inMombasa to sell our tea. The community gave

us the land and helped by bringing in sands,stones and so on. So they also own it and theyknow it is their centre.”

Growing tea is also helping Juliet secure adecent retirement.“I work as a civil servant, but I grow tea toprovide myself with a pension. I also growbananas and vegetables for the home, and Ihave cows. I have three boys and pay theirschool fees.”“We still only sell a tiny part of our crop asFairtrade. The rest is sold at auction where theprice doesn't always cover our costs.”She grows two hectares of tea and is one of2,000 smallholders who havebecome farmer shareholders in their local teafactory since it was privatised in 1995. Theyhave gradually bought shares throughdeductions from their green leaf sales.

Profi le 1 Profi le 2

Profi le 3

“Now children aren't exhausted”

“I work as a civil servant”

Growing bananas is the only way singlemum Nioka has of making ends meet. Herthree eldest sons work with her on the farmwhile the youngest is still at school. If Nioka,43, could not keep her business going shewould have no hope for the future.

Nioka is clear about the benefits ofFairtrade. She says it allows her to “get abetter price and save more money.” In thisway she is able to help with the educationof her youngest son.“The good thing about being involved inFairtrade is the social premium we get.“Last year we bought chairs and desks for

the primary school with ours. Before, whenwe held meetings everyone had to stand.”She is one of 605 small farmers nowregistered with The Windward IslandsFarmer’s Association.

Nioka has been growing bananas on a two-acre plot for 13 years. Banana growing isphysically demanding and often tediouswork. But for women like Nioka it representsher only real means of earning a decentliving and maintaining her sense ofindependence and self reliance. Nioka, said:“Bananas are my livelihood. They are whathelp me meet the needs of my family.”

“Bananas are my livelihood”

Dreams have come true for familiesliving in Costa Rica. A co-op, whichsupplies coffee to Fairtrade, hasprovided 1,000 scholarships forfarmers' children to go to secondaryschools and university, helped tomaintain local primary schools, anddeveloped income generatingschemes for women. Recently itbought land to give to 25 families onlong mortgages.

Members are encouraged to growother crops such as macadamia nuts,cassava, yucca and bananas, so thatthey are not too dependent on coffee.The group has invested in cleaner

technology, reducing the water its processing plant uses by 80pc, buying a solarenergy drying system for the coffee beans which has stopped the yearly loggingof 3 hectares of forest, producing fertiliser from coffee pulp, and introducing thesafe disposal of waste that previously was washed into local rivers.

They have also used the Fairtrade premium to fund work on soil restoration, treeplanting and environmental education.Guillermo Vargas Leiton is a member of the 400 strong coffee co-operative, whichbecame one of the first to supply Fairtrade in 1989.

Most of its members have only one hectare of land, in one of the most marginalisedareas of Costa Rica. He is clear that the Fairtrade market has produced benefitswhich could not have been dreamed of otherwise.

www.fairtrade.org.uk

Body Shop, 50 Linthorpe Rd, Tel: 01642 221724

Bells Stores, Acklam Rd, Tel: 01642 818230

Bells Stores, The Oval, Brookfield, Tel: 01642 598683 Tesco, Parkway Centre, Coulby Newham Tel: 01642 414400

Tesco, Acklam Rd Tel: 01642 597496

Tesco, 91 Parliament Rd, Tel: 01642 225597

For Goodness Sake, Newport Rd, Tel: 01642 219249 For Goodness Sake, Parkway Centre, Coulby Newham, Tel: 01642 599075

The people making i t happen in

A FAIR reward for afair day's work-that'swhat most of us takefor granted. Butsome peoplethroughout the worldare not so lucky. Andthis is where theFairtrade initiative

comes in. You may recognise the Fairtrade symbol-you can see it on some supermarket products or onadvertisements but what exactly does it mean andwhat impact does it have?

Fairtrade is all about making sure the people thatgrow produce or make things get a fair price forwhat they do. Fairtrade isn't a charity, it isn't aboutfundraising-it's a fair reward for peoples’ skills andhard work, and a sustainable way of doing business.The principles of fair trade have been around forabout 50 years and while it has made importantinroads, there is still more that can be done.

Many people in underdeveloped countries arestruggling to make a decent living. It is widelyreported that tea, coffee and cotton growers arefacing catastrophe as they are unable to cover theircosts which are at a 30-year low.

Ecuadorian banana farmers are being paid anunbelievable $2 for a box of bananas and cocoafarmers are getting just 1pc of the price we pay fora bar of chocolate. Many farmers struggle to feedtheir families and have been forced to withdraw theirchildren from school. The Fairtrade organisation isworking with these people to try and make sure thata fair price is paid for the products sold.

Middlesbrough wants to join in the fight for Fairtradeand that is why it plans to apply for Fairtrade status.It, along with other towns and cities, will have animpact in underdeveloped countries where there areFairtrade agreements.

currently drink over three million cups of Fairtradehot beverages and enjoy nearly 500,000 Fairtradebananas every day. But the vision is much biggerthan that. If we are to make a real difference, andtackle global poverty, our target in the UK for 2006is to make Fairtrade an everyday habit in bothbusiness and households.”

The Royal seal of approval has been given to theFairtrade campaign. In this year's New Year HonoursHarriet Lamb, who is executive director of theFairtrade Foundation, was awarded a Commanderof the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by theQueen. Harriet's award recognises the growingsignificance of Fairtrade to consumers andbusinesses and to the 5 million farmers, workersand their families around the world who benefit fromthe Fairtrade system.

Harriet said: “In recent years Fairtrade has grownfaster than we could have imagined. “There are over1,300 products ranging from honey and mangoesto roses and cotton t-shirts. The British public

Seal Of Approval

Fairtrade Stockists

Café Pronto, 63 Albert Road, Tel: 01642 230077

Café Revive, M&S, Linthorpe Rd, Tel: 01642 227811

Holland & Barrett, Unit 12 Hillstreet, Tel: 01642 220179 William Morrison Supermarket plc, Ormesby Rd, Berwick Hills, Tel: 01642 217171

Nature’s World, Ladgate Lane, Acklam, Tel: 01642 594895

North Eastern Co-op, 43 The Viewley Centre, Hemlington, Tel: 01642 591606

www.fairtrade.org.uk

If it’s not about money, whatis it about?

Fairtrade is about recognising those products thatcarry the Fairtrade logo and informing people of thedifference that can be made by purchasing theseproducts. When you buy these products you willknow that a fair price has been paid to the producers.The purpose of a Fairtrade Town is to contribute tothe Fairtrade Foundation’s aim of tackling povertyby enabling disadvantaged producers from poorcountries to receive a better deal, throughencouraging support through the Fairtrade mark.The town can only achieve this with the support andcommitment of people and businesses.

We are only a small town,what difference can wemake?

The first ever Fairtrade town was Garstang inLancashire with a population of only 4000 people!Today more than 135 towns, cities, villages, islandsand countries have achieved Fairtrade statusand over 230 are campaigning to join them. Theyhave helped Fairtrade to become the fastestconsumer movement with sales up 50% in the lasttwo years. This has totalled over £140 millionmaking a difference to the lives of 5 million farmersand their families in over 49 countries.

We don’t run a shop whichcould sell Fairtrade products,how can we make adifference?You don’t need to be a retailer and sell items youcan make a difference by serving Fairtrade tea andcoffee to your staff and at your meetings. Big namecompanies like KOPMG, Astra Zeneca, Orange and

BT already do, and small companies are just asimportant. For example if you run a hairdressingbusiness or work in a busy office, why not make adecision to purchase Fairtrade? We are also askingcafés and restaurants to offer a Fairtrade alternativeon their menu to give customers a choice when theyare purchasing. Every purchase makes a real andimmediate difference. It’s that easy!!

What sort of products areavailable with the Fairtrademark?

You will be pleasantly surprised when you have alook at the selection of goods available. The firstproducts were teas, coffees and chocolate, but nowover 850 products bear the Fairtrade mark includingwine, beer, cocoa and drinking chocolate, fresh fruit,fruit juices, sugar, biscuits and cakes, cereal bars,honey and jams, marmalade and chutneys, rice,cotton, roses and footballs!!

Where can I get them?

Most good supermarkets carry a range of Fairtradefood and beverages. All of the Co-op’s own brandcoffees are Fairtrade and Oxfam on Newport Road,Middlesbrough has a good selection. You can alsoorder from the website www.traidcraftshop.co.ukGoods can also be purchased on-line from mail ordersuppliers listed on the British Association of FairtradeShops’ web site: www.bafts.org.uk

Are they more expensive than theproducts we normally buy?

No, not necessarily. Some of theTraidcraft productsmay appear more expensive if you compare themwith cheaper brands but if you compare themon a like for like basis you will probably only find a

small difference in cost. Some organisations havefound their budgets unchanged when they switchedto Fairtrade and some even found that theysaved money. The great thing is, you know that theproducers are getting a fair deal for a good product.

Oxfam ShopNewport RoadMiddlesbroughT: 01642 221376www.oxfam.co.uk

The Fairtrade FoundationRoom 20416 Baldwin’s GardensLondonEC1N 7RJT: 020 7405 5942www.fairtrade.org.uk

Useful Contacts

Questions & Answers

Fairtrade Stockists (Churches)

St Clare’s, Brookfield

Holy name of Mary, Linthorpe

Nunthorpe Methodist, Nunthorpe

www.fairtrade.org.uk

Trinity Methodist, Acklam

St Andrew’s URC, Nunthorpe

Linthorpe Road URC, Nunthorpe

Quaker Meeting House, Cambridge Rd

Cambridge Road Baptist, Cambridge Rd

St Mary’s, Nunthorpe

St Cuthbert’s, Marton

Grove Hill Methodists,Grove Hill

A recent survey, carried out in 25European countries, shows thatFairtrade sales in Europe have beengrowing at an average 20% per yearsince 2000. The annual net retail valueof Fair Trade products sold in Europenow exceeds 660 million (£455 million.)This is more than double the figure fiveyears ago. Fairtrade has thus becomeone of the fastest growing markets inthe world.

Fairtrade products can now be found in55,000 supermarkets all over Europeand the market share has becomesignificant in some countries: 47% of allbananas, 28% of the flowers and 9%of the sugar sold in Switzerland areFairtrade labelled. In the UK, a marketwith eight times the population ofSwitzerland, labelled products haveachieved a 5% market share of tea, a5.5% share of bananas and a 20% shareof ground coffee.

From modest beginnings in the 1950s,Fairtrade has expanded into a worldwidemovement, benefiting more than fivemillion producers and their families in

developing countries.

There are now over 2,800 Worldshopswithin Europe, stocking almostexclusively Fairtrade products importedby 200 Fairtrade organisations. Themovement counts on the contributionof about 100,000 volunteers all overEurope.

Fairtrade is an efficient tool to overcomepoverty and to reach the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. It gives producersa fair deal, not only by paying a fair andstable price for their products.Fairtraders also help their partners inthe South to get better market access,to protect the environment and tocomply with European standards. Long-term trading relationships and pre-financing are other important pillars ofthe Fairtrade system. In Europe, theFairtrade movement has beeninstrumental in building up consumerpressure on coffee and bananacompanies to stop using forced andchild labour and to look into their ownbusiness practices.

Success of Fairtrade in

20th February 2006

PRESS RELEASE

New Research Reveals Successof Fairtrade in Europe

“Sales growing on average20% per year”

“100,000 volunteersall over Europe”

Fairness for the third worldwww.fairtrade.org.uk