A Fairtrade Diocese

Fairtrade in Arundel & Brighton

Arundel and Brighton became a Fairtrade Diocese in June 2005. More than half the churches in the Diocese have Fairtrade status in their own right and almost as many offer some support. Many also offer support to initiatives to gain and retain Fairtrade status for several towns and Boroughs in Surrey and Sussex.To become a Fairtrade church, you can apply using the application form here

All your church needs to do is fulfil three requirements namely, use Fairtrade tea or coffee after services and at meetings for which you have responsibility; move forward on using other Fairtrade products such as sugar, biscuits, fruit etc and promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade fortnight and during the year through events, worship, and other activities whenever possible.

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade Fortnight ran between 27th February and 11th March. The theme of this highly participative event was "Take a Step". A number of churches have sent in a brief report of what they did during the fortnight and to view these, click here The report from Steve Innes and the Crawley Fairtrade team can be found here . At this Crawley event, Mayour Carol Eade and Councillor Brenda Burgess attended. Click here for the photograph.

Why a Fairtrade Diocese?

Supporting Fairtrade is a natural extension of our Christian faith. To understand Fairtrade it is important to keep in mind the distinction between charity and justice. Buying Fairtrade goods is not about making a donation to charity. It's about entering into a proper relationship with those who supply us with the food and craft-goods we use, allowing the producers to receive a fair wage for their work rather than paying them as little as we can get away with, as so often happens in the High Street.

In practice Fairtrade means that small-scale producers receive a guaranteed payment for the products which is fixed above the "market rate". A proportion of the "premium" that they receive is re-invested in the local community, producing benefits such as improved schooling, health and sanitation. How to spend this premium is decided collectively by the producers themselves but what may seem like insignificant amounts of money to us can have dramatic effects in the Third World communities affected.

Fairtrade and Spirituality

For the Christian, Fairtrade can also be a help to spiritual growth. Choosing Fairtrade products when we shop encourages us to reflect on our own lifestyles and the impact of our consumption on others. As we learn to look for Fairtrade alternatives we also become more conscious of the links which bind us to our poorer brothers and sisters around the world. When we choose Fairtrade we realise the power that we have to influence the future of the world in even the smallest things - our choice of tea-bags, for instance.

If that is true for the individual it is also true for the group - be that group a prayer-group, finance-committee, parish, school or diocese. Acts of solidarity with the poorest become acts of reverence for the Lord, signs of God's Kingdom where the poor and the outcast can at last take their proper place at the Banquet of God's love. Using Fairtrade products allows us to live in some measure of solidarity with the poorest; in other words, to "do justice", as the Old Testament prophets demanded.

Avoid Imitations!

Genuine Fairtrade products should have the Fairtrade symbol (the silhouette of a person with one arm raised in a circle on a dark background.(see illustration right). This is the international FAIRTRADE mark (introduced from 1rst September 2008) and allows shoppers to recognise Fairtrade certified products easily, regardless of which country they are in. Recent findings have shown that 70% of the UK population recognise the FAIRTRADE Mark and it can now be found on more and more shelves of the major supermarkets.

There are a few organisations such as Traidcraft and Oxfam whose products can be relied on to offer their producers similar benefits but please be sure that you are fully informed. fairtrade@dabnet may be able to help. As a response to the success of Fairtrade some of the big coffee brands in particular have made limited concessions on working conditions and wages, but these generally remain inadequate. Fairtrade status is only granted by the trade body, The Fairtrade Foundation, after rigorous checks of both product quality and working conditions. And it's The Fairtrade Foundation which promotes Fairtrade Fortnight every year.

Be Part Of A Success Story

Fairtrade is, as it happens, one of the great success stories of contemporary "consumer-power". UK retail sales figures for 2008 show an increase of 40% over the previous year to about £700 million after more than doubling in value the previous year. Cafedirect and other Fairtrade brands are able to hold their own on the supermarket shelves against the products of the big multinationals.

In August 2009, Kukpa Kokoo, the co-operative of cocoa farmers that owns Divine Chocolate, and is the only Fairtrade certified farmers' organisation in Ghana, will be having its AGM in Kumasi. It will be a bustling event with 2,500 farmers, who will attend from about 1,200 villages in cocoa-growing regions across Ghana. They will report on how the business is doing – they have purchased 35,000 tonnes of cocoa – and will discuss proposals for the use of the Fairtrade Premiums, and decide the priorities for the year ahead. This symbol of the democratic process is part of what makes Kuapa Kokoo and its 45,000 members so unique and an inspiration to farming organisations and chocolate lovers around the world.

Back in 1998, Divine Chocolate set out to change the way the chocolate industry works for ever, with a bold and unique proposition where people are valued as much as profit. It looked to source its main ingredient at a sustainable price, and be co-owned by the farmers normally so marginalised by the industry they supply. No one really thought it was possible, but against the odds, Divine has grown to a £12.4m business with a fabulous range of products in all major supermarkets, delivering a profit to the farmer-owners of the company.

By converting some of its business to Fairtrade, Cadbury's has joined Divine in saying to the industry that the current way of working is neither sustainable nor fair. Together, we really have the chance to create a step change, where the very least companies (both manufacturers and retailers) should do is pay a Fairtrade price for the ingredients they buy.

Kuapa could supply Cadbury's with three times as much Fairtrade cocoa, so there is nothing to stop Cadbury's converting more of its products to Fairtrade. The farmers, their families and their communities would really appreciate the sales.

The future of Fairtrade is very much in the hands of the powerful supermarkets. We have to trust they will continue to offer a choice of Fairtrade brands so consumers can continue to support the way we do business.

For fair trade to become the norm, it is important that pioneers such as Divine continue their mission to change fundamentally how business is done. There is a long way to go.

What Can We Do?

First of all, please let us know any initiatives that you take as a community to work for Trade Justice. These are good news stories and we should share them! (You can write to the Fairtrade Diocese Working Party at the address given below.)

Secondly, take action locally. More than 4500 churches in the UK have met goals to become a Fairtrade Church. In order to maintain our Diocesan status as a Fairtrade Diocese, we need to ensure that 50% of our Churches have Fairtrade accreditation. Becoming a Fairtrade Church is very straightforward as it only involves fulfilling three criteria Your parish or community can get can get recognition of its commitment to Fairtrade directly from the Fairtrade Foundation www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_places_of_worship/fairtrade_churches/default.aspx provided that you:

• Use Fairtrade tea and coffee for all meetings for which you have responsibility;
• Increase the use of other Fairtrade products, such as sugar, biscuits, fruit, etc.;
• Promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight - and at other opportunities throughout the year.

To download your own Fairtrade application form, please click here

Practical Steps At Local Level

Why not get a small group together to guide the parish through this process and to plan your involvement in Fairtrade Fortnight? There are plentiful suggestions of things to do on the Fairtrade Foundation website (www.fairtrade.org.uk) and their copy of their Church Action Guide may be especially useful.

This could be a good opportunity to involve particular groups within the parish (e.g. members of the confirmation group) or to link up with what is happening in your local schools.

Consider setting up a Traidcraft agency in the parish (or working ecumenically with other local churches to run a stall). Details can be found on the Traidcraft website (www.traidcraft.co.uk).

Above all, include prayers for the world's poor and for Trade Justice in your Sunday liturgy, your prayer group, your parish newsletter or magazine, your school assembly

Practical Resources and Useful Addresses:

Arundel & Brighton Fairtrade

Diocese of Arundel & Brighton Justice & Peace Office The Christian Education Centre, 4 Soutgate Drive, Crawley RH10 6RP 01293 651155

Cafod
Romero Close, Stockwell Road, London SW9 9TY
www.cafod.org.uk
020-7733-7900
Fairtrade Foundation
Room 204, 16 Baldwin's Gardens, London EC1N 7RJ
www.fairtrade.org.uk
020-7405-5942
Traidcraft
Kingsway, Gateshead NE11 0NE
www.traidcraft.co.uk
0191-491-0591