Fairtrade Fortnight starts today and lasts until Sunday 8 March, so we’ve put together a blog on what Fairtrade Fortnight is, how you can support it, and the positive impact you can make from supporting Fairtrade. This year there is a special focus on cocoa, which is why we’re putting on a free Fairtrade Coffee & Chocolate morning on Saturday 7 March, 11am in Goodricke College to support Fairtrade!
What is Fairtrade Fortnight?
Fairtrade Fortnight is an annual campaign that aims to raise awareness to shoppers about just where their products are coming from, and to promote the active purchase of Fairtrade products. This year there is a focus on cocoa and the special role women farmers play in the journey to living incomes! The campaign is a way for Fairtrade to share the stories of Fairtrade farmers and the positive impact that buying their products can make on these people’s lives.
Why is raising awareness important? Well, cocoa farmers in West Africa currently earn only approximately 40% of what they need to achieve a living income (that’s roughly 74p a day). To put it into perspective: these workers earn less a day than what you would pay for a large bar of chocolate, and that is all they have to survive on. In order to tackle this, Fairtrade campaigns for a living income to be given to these farmers to ensure that they can live a simple but comfortable life, which includes having the money to afford clothing, medicine and education.
How do they do this? The Fairtrade system supports small scale farmers and workers, who are vulnerable to poverty, through trade. When organisations sell Fairtrade products they are required to pay the Fairtrade minimum price, and this minimum price helps to support farmers in becoming more income-secure. Not only that, but these organisations can also opt to support these farmers in additional ways, such as by building wells and hospitals and buying better farming equipment.
You can support this movement every time you go shopping by looking for products that have the Fairtrade mark! Companies that make their coffee with Fairtrade beans include: Greggs, Starbucks, Co-Op, Nisa, Morrisons, and Tesco. This means you can support Fairtrade even on campus!
What is happening on Campus for Fairtrade Fortnight?
As part of Connecting East, we’re having our very own Fairtrade Coffee & Chocolate Morning on Saturday 7 March, 11am, in Goodricke College! This is a free event open to all members of the three Campus East Colleges, and is in collaboration with CoffeeSoc, so come on down for free coffee, chocolate, and to learn more about Fairtrade.
It’s not just our event though that’s happening during this fortnight, there are plenty more that you can attend in the City itself, which we’ve put together for you below:
◾ York Fairtrade Forum, Thursday 27 February, 6pm, The Spurriergate Centre. The city is holding a free panel event to share inspiring stories about the women behind our chocolate! Find out more here.
◾ The Kite Runner, Friday 6 March, 7pm, Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road. In partnership with South Bank Community Cinema, they are showing The Kite Runner. There will be a short talk on Youth and Fairtrade at 7.30 before the film starts at 8pm. Tickets £5 (£4 members), find out more here.
Find out more information on Fairtrade Fortnight here, and come along to our Fairtrade Coffee & Chocolate morning on Saturday 7 March, 11am, in Goodricke College.
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