It’s Fairtrade Fortnight and campaigners across the country are donning their banana suits, popping the kettle on, joining forces with friends, all to share this year’s message: Brew it Fair.
Fairtrade remains at the core of fairandfunky’s ethos. Supporting, buying and shouting about Fairtrade is a brilliant example of the little steps we can all take to change the world. And this year it feels more important than ever before to show Fairness, to be Fair, to brew it Fair. We need to show kindness within our communities, in both a local and global sense. And if it takes carrying a massive cup of Fairtrade tea in and around our local town, to raise awareness and get your attention then that is what we’ll do! Because what is kinder than sharing a brew? Especially a Fairtrade one.
Fairtrade is synonymous with solidarity and justice. Through Fairtrade we can guarantee that farmers and workers behind the products we buy everyday are paid a Fair income. That communities are strengthened, empowered and emboldened. We have the power in our hands to make real change and change we must.
Change doesn’t come easy though, which is why we always encourage those little steps that we can all take to change the world. It could be as simple as changing your choice of tea or coffee or chocolate to a Fairtrade one. It could be to shop with a small independent business just once a week, or to share this blog on social media to help raise awareness.
But how can one little thing be so powerful? Because we’re all taking these steps together, and together we can create waves of change. The more people who buy Fairtrade, the more money is generated in the communities at source. Communities who are then able to fund projects to benefit everyone – safe water, school buses, education programmes, training workshops. All these things create a wealth of knowledge in the heart of farmland; knowledge and wealth that is reinvested to increase incomes, benefit livelihoods, create more employment opportunities and increase yields for us to buy. And this cycle of positivity, rather than poverty, repeats itself for future generations.
This is a world we want to be part of. A world where the people we rely on for the things we buy and consume aren’t marginalised, nor exploited; but are valued. A future that is fair.
For more information on the Brew It Fair campaign and to sign the petition from the Fairtrade Foundation asking the UK Government to join them in fighting unfairness in global trade PLEASE CLICK HERE.
Tweets by @fair_funky
