Fairtrade supporters from across Yorkshire came together in July to celebrate 30 years of the Fairtrade mark.

Representatives of Groups as far apart as Settle and Hull joined with Fairtrade Yorkshire supporters at Christchurch in Ilkley.

30 years of demonstrating fairness in trade and calling for trade justice were marked, alongside the renewal of Yorkshire’s status as a Fairtrade Region.

Highlights of the event included:

Judith Micklem of Fairtrade Pocklington talking about all that the local Fairtrade group has achieved.

Mr Kingdon from Christ Church Primary School in Skipton told us about all the brilliant work the children at his school had done to support Fairtrade.

Liz Roodhouse detailed the events that Fairtrade Embsay with Eastby had held to celebrate 30 years of the Fairtrade mark.

A new brand of Fairtrade biscuits was launched by Fair Trade wholesaler, Premcrest.

Dr Mark Dawson of York St John University led a workshop on Fairtrade and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The event concluded with a rousing speech on the future of Fairtrade from Stefan Donnelly from the Fairtrade Foundation in London.

Launch of Wish4 Fairtrade biscuits

Pocklington FLAG set up an information stall at the popular ‘Nature Recovery Day’ which was hosted by Greener Pocklington on 11th May. The emphasis was on Fairtrade and climate justice and why they go together, and also measures that we can take to reduce our carbon footprint.

On 14th March a civic event was held at York’s historic Mansion House to mark 20 years of Fairtrade status.

The Lord Mayor of York, the Sheriff of York and York Central MP, Rachael Maskell were all in attendance.

York Fairtrade supporters: Clive, Moira, Charlie and Ivana

There were keynote speeches from two academics – Professor Bob Docherty from the University of York and Dr Mark Dawson from York St John University.

Bob spoke about the history of Fairtrade and Mark looked back over the 20 years of Fairtrade in York. Tribute was paid to the many people who have contributed to gaining and then maintaining York’s status, including Moira and Charlie from Fairer World, who received a spontaneous round of applause.

York’s first Fairtrade Councillor, Andrew Waller, the Sheriff of York and the Sheriff’s Consort

Mark Dawson commented ‘It is time to be proud of our city’s tradition in fighting for social justice, it is time to be proud of the Fairtrade movement and now is the time to be proud of York Fairtrade City. Here’s to the next 20 years.’

The Fair and Funky team, based in Holmfirth, organised workshops on Fairtrade at The Tolson Museum in Huddersfield in March. Nine schools from across the region joined to celebrate and learn about Fairtrade in four workshops from leading practitioners.

“Exciting and informative the children learnt a lot and really enjoyed all aspects of the day. The workshops were really interesting, we loved creating poems, learning where different Fairtrade items come from and using all our senses to taste chocolate.” Carlton Junior and Infant School.

Based in Skipton, Namaste Fair Trade has a huge range of ethical, hand crafted, eco-friendly products made by skilled artisans across the world. The felt tree decorations are beautifully made in Nepal, some are definitely a bit different – I’ve never seen a dinosaur wearing a Christmas hat hanging on a tree before! The stars made using recycled saris are a favourite of mine.

Who doesn’t enjoy lighting a candle at this time of year? There are so many to choose from – scented ones in tins, floral and colourful ones in coconut shells, sets of tiny ones in ceramic hearts, cats, dogs and elephants!! I love them all.

Soapstone message pebbles are perfect to give as a gift and keep in a coat pocket. All are inexpensive and the latest yellow heart shaped ‘Bee happy’ pebble is gorgeous.

Definitely something for everyone – and for retail and wholesale customers.

The sales team couldn’t be more helpful and friendly. So, with free deliveries over £50 and no minimum spend for a wholesale account, what’s stopping you getting the generous discount for bulk buying – e.g. a six dinosaur pack to share with family and friends or for your Fairtrade stall.

Take a look for yourself: Home | Namaste Fair Trade | Namaste-UK Ltd

Liz Roodhouse, Chair of Skipton Fairtrade and Fair Trader.

The Fairer World team are delighted to announce that the shop at 84 Gillygate in York has now reopened! Just in time for the festive season, our shelves are packed with beautiful Christmas cards, gifts and crafts as well as our usual varied offering of high quality fair trade and sustainable food, drink and household products.

Catherine, Moira and Charlie (pictured) along with Mary and Chris are looking forward to welcoming you in person. Come on down! We’ll be thrilled to see you.

In October, Pocklington celebrated the renewal of their Fairtrade Town status, a title the East Riding market town has held for 14 years.

Local supporters came together including representatives from schools, churches, community groups and local businesses. Members of the Town Council attended including the Mayor of Pocklington.

The celebration event was held at All Saints Church Pocklington and supporters enjoyed Fairtrade wine and a selection of local cheeses.

Wendy Voke spoke about the Kilombero rice challenge, which supports rice farmers in Malawi, and there was a stall of fairly traded goods from the Fairer World shop in York.

Dr Mark Dawson, of Fairtrade Yorkshire, congratulated Pocklington on its high profile support for Fairtrade through the difficult times of the pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis. He commented: “Fairtrade is at heart a simple concept, that people deserve fair payment for the work that they do and that everyone should be able to live and work in a safe place; in communities where they can enjoy the basic necessities of life and provide for their families.”

Yusuke, a student from Tokyo, visited Yorkshire on a fact-finding mission about Fairtrade Communities.  His interest is in international trade and development issues.  He came to Haworth to attend a meeting to plan future activities in the town and then joined in the Yorkshire Region Fairtrade event in Ilkley on 23rd September.  He attended the service at Bradford Cathedral on Sunday morning and enjoyed the music and singing.  He plays the trombone.  He will spend a month in Ghana visiting various Fairtrade and cocoa farming initiatives.

Mike and Yusuke

It is encouraging to know that the work of our community is noted not only in the UK, but worldwide.  Our actions count!

Mike de Villiers, Fairtrade Baildon

Haworth Fairtrade group has been given a boost by Rev Oli Preston who is keen to bring new ideas and involve young people. He was introduced to regular Haworth visitor Bruce Crowther, the founder of the Fair Trade Town movement who brought along Yusuke, a Japanese student doing a study of child labour and slavery.

Joined by other seasoned campaigners, the group gathered at Upstairs Pennybank House, with the iconic view down Haworth Main Street, where they discussed many activities and events that have taken place over the past 21 years. Rita Verity from Sonia’s Smile, founder of Haworth Fairtrade group and Haworth Machu Picchu (Peru) Twinning group, hosted the meet up. Also present were Joanna Fianu, chair of Fairtrade Lancashire and co-founder with husband Samuel, of a new social enterprise – Alls Fair Tours – offering trade justice-themed tours of Ghana as a way to promote income generation through tourism in cocoa-growing regions.

Rev Oli Preston, Bruce Crowther, Joanna Fianu, Rita Verity, Samuel Fianu, Mike De Villiers, Yusuke Yasuda

The majority of shoppers nowadays are aware of the importance of knowing the conditions in which their purchases are produced and crucially the hardships of the people growing and making them. The life changing benefits that Fair Trade brings and the massive shift towards ethical purchasing is due in part as a direct consequence of Fair Trade campaigning. With this knowledge, consumer pressure for corporations and businesses to adhere to strong ethical policies has benefitted both people and planet.

Along with the more commonly understood, safe conditions and fair pay etc, the Fairtrade premium ensures farmers receive the training to adapt and prepare for the rapidly increasing climate change which is causing a real threat to their crops, it’s hard to imagine a world without chocolate, coffee or bananas!

Exciting plans are also forecast for the future of the Twinning group in collaboration with Bradford University’s Archaeology department.