Haxby chocolate tasters and the winner of the ‘guess the weight of the Fairtrade chocolate cake’ competition.

York Fair Trade Forum held a chocolate tasting at the Aroma Fairtrade Cafe in Haxby.  Needless to say, it was very popular.  Attendees at the event on 5th March enjoyed a wide variety of Divine Chocolate products.  Completing tasting notes, the guests had to guess the flavours in the chocolate which ranged from toffee apple, to pear and ginger and even sea salt!  If this were not enough, the Yorkies then enjoyed a vast array of Fairtrade cakes.

The Fairtrade Foundation film, Fairtrade Matters was shown.  Following the lives of tea growers in Malawi, it reminded everyone of the difference that Fairtrade makes to the lives of producers and why its important to buy Fairtrade products and demand that our retailers sell them.

Armonia perform at the Fairtrade Fortnight event at York’s City Screen Basement Bar

York’s citizens also had a chance to see the film earlier on in Fairtrade Fortnight when an event of “Films, Facts and Fairtrade Fortnight Frivolities” was held at the Basement Bar at the City Screen Cinema. The Tour de Fairtrade Yorkshire film was also shown, between music from The Spectacles, Armonia and Penny and the Poppet and a quiz.

Fairtrade Skipton put up a huge sign to announce Fairtrade Fortnight to the town’s many shoppers.  The banner was hung in front of Holy Trinity church which occupies an elevated position above the High Street; so it was impossible to miss.

On the horizon: Skipton’s new banner

During the Fortnight Skipton’s Fairtrade group held a successful film evening at Skipton Girls’ High School.  ‘The People and the Olive’ a film about Palestinian olive growers was shown, together with the Fairtrade short movie ‘Fairtrade Matters’ which features tea growers from Malawi and how Fairtrade has helped them to improve life in their communities.

Roger of the Beehive shop serves customers at the Fair Trade Fair

The University of Leeds held its annual Fair Trade Fair on Tuesday 3rd March in Parkinson Court.  The event was a great success drawing in large numbers of students and staff who were able to sample, and purchase, a wide range of Fair Trade products.  There were stalls from many businesses including the Beehive Shop, Fairer World, Oxfam and Zaytoun, the Fair Trade Palestinian olive and olive oil producers.

Children from 22 schools across Leeds came together to lead activities on Fairtrade, Sweatshops and Recycling at a special celebration at Leeds Civic Hall last Friday. The children used Peer Education Toolkits put together by Leeds DEC; activities designed especially for children to lead with other children.

Councillor Jane Dowson and Paul Brennan (Dept Director of Learning, Skills and Universal Services at Leeds City Council) gave out certificates to reward schools for their commitment to learning about global issues, including Fairtrade.

“It was a superb event with children teaching each other about how we are connected to other people around the world, and how buying Fairtrade products ensures that people are paid a fair amount for their work” said organiser Hannah Langdana. “When I asked the teachers what they found useful about the event one of them said ‘the films and peer workshops; showing children in action as agents of change’ ”

One of the children said “I’ve learnt that banana workers only receive 1p out of 30p. I feel glad that there are so many people involved in Fairtrade, and are making things a bit fairer.”

For the past 3 years Fairtrade Rotherham have organised a Rotherham Primary Schools’ Fairtrade Poster Competition and have held a celebration evening for the prize winners, those highly commended, parents, school staff & Fairtrade Steering Committee members.

This year, some of the entries have been made up into a public art work as part of Rotherham’s ‘Gallery Town’ project.  The Fairtrade posters have been collated by Rainforest Graphics ino a montage and this work is now on public display on the wall of Rotherham’s Town Centre Market.  On the bottom of the art work are some words  from the steering committee naming the participating schools and thanking them for helping to spread the Fairtrade message.

The Church of England Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales – which covers Huddersfield, Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford and Ripon – is running a poster competition open to anyone living in the diocese.

Simply design an A4 poster in any medium advertising Fairtrade chocolate or Fairtrade cocoa.

Certificates & Fairtrade Easter Eggs will be awarded to the winners in 3 age-group categories:

• Adults (18+)
• Secondary School Age
• Pre-School & Primary School Age

To enter, scan the original artwork and email the image to Tina Walker at tinalet@hotmail.com. The name of the artist and their age-group should be written on the artwork, so that each piece is clearly identifiable.

Winners will be notified by email and asked to provide their original artwork for the Prize Presentation and Press

The closing date is 15 March 2015

The website of the Church of England Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales is at http://www.westyorkshiredales.anglican.org/

Fairtrade campaigners in York went bananas as they called on Tesco to stock more Fairtrade. Members of the York Fair Trade Forum assembled at Tesco’s Clifton Moor superstore on Friday 12th December and, with the help of a 5 metre long inflatable banana, drew attention to the campaign: ‘Asda and Tescos make your bananas Fairtrade.’

The campaigners were joined by the Fairtrade Councillor for the City of York, Linsay Cunningham-Cross, who handed over letters to the Duty Manager calling for the Tesco store to stock more Fairtrade bananas.

The Fairtrade Foundation’s ‘Asda and Tescos make your bananas Fairtrade’ campaign has been launched as bitter banana price battles between the UK’s biggest supermarkets are trapping vulnerable farmers and workers in poverty.

Over the past 10 years, the price supermarkets charge for our loose bananas has halved, whilst the cost of producing them has doubled, leaving many banana farmers and workers caught below the poverty line.

Asda and Tesco are two of the biggest bananas sellers in the UK and major players in this price war. Thousands of farmers and workers grow the millions of bananas they sell each year, yet less than one in ten of these bananas comes with Fairtrade certification, which research shows is the best independent assurance that those who produced them were protected from the pressure of low prices.

Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and The Co-operative have already acted to give their customers confidence that they’re not squeezing their farmers and workers – 100% of the bananas they sell are Fairtrade certified. Asda and Tesco, selling less than 10% Fairtrade, lag a long way behind.

We need to know that farmers and workers aren’t paying the price for our cheap bananas. Asda and Tesco are negotiating their banana contracts right now so it’s important to act quickly.

Ask them to go Fairtrade today – send a message to your local store now

Students at the University of Leeds can enjoy a fair Christmas after shopping at the annual University Fair Trade and Christmas Fair held in the palatial surroundings of Parkinson Court.

A wide variety of Fair Trade products was on sale including: food and drink items, handicrafts, fashion goods, accessories, stylish bags and jewellery.  Traders included Traidcraft, Oxfam and Fairer World.  Amongst the special Christmas purchases were Fairtrade christmas puddings, christmas cakes, nativity sets and dates from Palestine.

Members of Fairtrade Leeds set up a stall to sell Zaytoun products and to promote Leeds’ status as a Fairtrade City.

Over 2000 people attended the switching on of the Christmas lights in Skipton on 27th November.  This year the theme for the switch on was ‘make it a local and Fairtrade Christmas’ and the honour of illuminating the town went to Kaden of Water Street Primary School, who designed the poster for the event, and to Mark Dawson, the Coordinator of Fairtrade Yorkshire. 

The crowds were treated to an exciting entertainment line up including a rousing brassband and an appearance from Santa.  Late night shopping gave the people of Skipton the chance to marvel at the lights and purchase Fair Trade food, beverages and gifts from the many outlets in the town that sell them, including the dedicated Fair Trade shop, From the Source.

Skipton celebrated its first Christmas as a Fairtrade Town and following the switching on there was a civic reception in the Town Hall, hosted by the Mayor of Skipton, Councillor John Dawson.  Kaden was congratulated alongside runners up in the poster competition: Gemma of Greatwood Primary School and Jack from Parish Church Primary School.

Jack, Kaden and Gemma with the Mayor of Skipton and Mark Dawson of Fairtrade Yorkshire

This year’s spectacular Christmas light ‘switch on’ in Skipton, on Thursday 27th November, will have an extra special Fairtrade flavour. The slogan for the town centre switch on will be ‘make it a local and Fairtrade Christmas.’  Shoppers are encouraged to support the wide variety of local shops and businesses in Skipton, not least the thriving market. Skipton, which has recently been declared a Fairtrade Town, has many businesses which sell or serve Fairtrade products, and it is the home of the dedicated Fair Trade shop ‘From the Source’ which sells a selection of high quality hand made gifts and fashion items.

Kaden’s winning poster

On the 27th, live entertainment will take place from 5pm to 8pm, just outside of the Town Hall. A brassband will play from 5.30, leading up to the grand illumination at 6pm. The lights will be switched on by the Coordinator of Fairtrade Yorkshire, Mark Dawson, and the winner of the local and Fairtrade poster competition, Kaden, from Water Street Primary School. Over 200 entries were received in the competition to design a poster for the switch on and Kaden’s winning entry was chosen by a panel which included the Town Centre Manager and the Coordinator of Fairtrade Skipton. Many of Skipton’s businesses will be open for the evening. So come along and enjoy the magical atmosphere in the countdown to a Fairtrade Christmas.