MEP supports Fairtrade Yorkshire
Yorkshire MEP, Linda McAvan, is proud to give her backing to the Fairtrade Yorkshire campaign. Speaking to our coordinator, Mark Dawson, she said:
“As chair of both the European Parliament Fair Trade Group and the Parliament’s Committee on International Development, I am delighted to support Fair Trade Yorkshire’s campaign to become the UK’s first Fair Trade region. I became more active on Fair Trade after visiting cocoa farmers in Ghana whose livelihoods have been dramatically improved by becoming Fair Trade farmers. What particularly struck me was that the extra income and financial security Fair Trade brings leads to better life chances for their children because it means more resources for education, healthcare and clean water.
Sales of Fair Trade goods are on the increase in our region. This is great news. Lots of schools, colleges, universities, local councils and companies have Fair Trade policies. In the European Parliament we are working to make it easier for local authorities and other organisations to switch to Fair Trade by promoting it in public procurement. Growth in Fair Trade sales despite the economic downturn shows that the policy has strong public support.
By becoming a Fair Trade region, Yorkshire is sending out a clear message that we want people in the developing world to be paid a fair price for the work and the goods they produce and that we are prepared to do our bit for global justice.
