Fairtrade
Following a conference hosted in Newcastle by the Fairtrade Foundation, we learned lots more about the benefits of fairtrade, campaign ideas, the wide range of products available and the upcoming newbies too.
- We've bridged the gap in food and clothing retail by getting all the Officer hoodies from Epona - a fairtrade supplier and printed by Acorn who are one of the few printers who deal with them. We plan to continue working with Epona and Acorn to encourage the use fairtrade clothing for all the Union Societies and Clubs.
- During Ethics and Environment Week (25th-28th Feb '08) there is a lot of information available about Fairtrade goods, what positive effects their sale has for the producers and the companies who sell them. The Fairtrade fashionshow is ideal for the style-monitors of you - showing how you can wear clothing with a conscious, while digging into some of our Fairtrade chocolate fountain or sampling some tasty Fairtrade wine (available at the bar) - at the Union Bassment on Thursday 28th Feb, 7.30pm (tickets £1 adv/£2.50 on the door)
- There's also a whole day dedicated to FOOD! Loads of cool companies are coming along to talk to YOU about what they have to offer, answer your questions on Fairtrade goods and of course give you lots of free samples too! That's Food day, Wednesday 27th Feb, 10-4.30ish outside the Union.
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We're also working on a campaign to introduce Ubuntu Cola (please visit www.ubuntutrading.com) into your Union shop! This alternative is NUS accredited and would sit nicely alongside Coca-cola products to give students a Fairtrade option. Ubuntu's a fantastic organisation which not only makes cola with fairtrade sugar, but invests 33% of its profits back into local communities in Sub-saharan Africa to help sustain the of the development and future security of these small impoverished villages. Visit http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newcastle_cola/index.html to sign the petition today!
If you'd like to get more informed, involved or enthused about Fairtrade, please email Jen at environment.union@ncl.ac.uk.
