Goals for a Fairtrade Town or City
In order to be accredited as a 'Fairtrade Town', a community must make a substantial commitment to raising awareness about Fairtrade and to encourage consumers to switch to Fairtrade products.
To achieve this, five goals must be met:
- Goal 1 - The Local Council
- The local council must pass a resolution in support of fair trade, and agree to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at its meetings and in its offices and canteens.
- Goal 2 - Retail Outlets
- A range of Fairtrade products must be readily available for purchase in the town's shops, cafés and restaurants.
- Goal 3 - Fairtrade workplaces
- Fairtrade products must be used in a number of workplaces and community organisations.
- Goal 4 - Fairtrade in the Media
- The campaign must attract considerable media coverage and popular support.
- Goal 5 - Fairtrade Steering Group
- A local Fairtrade steering group must be set up and convened to ensure continued commitment to its Fairtrade Town status.
The above list is adapted from the Fairtrade Foundation's Fairtrade Towns Goals and Action Guide.
Origins of Fairtrade Towns
The Fairtrade Towns initiative started in 1999 in the small Lancashire town of Garstang. The campaign to make Garstang the world's first Fairtrade Town
inspired not just local activists but local shopkeepers and businesses in the area too. Soon prominent politicians, the mayor and the local MP were all backing the initiative. The scheme has now been expanded to cover villages, cities, boroughs and 'zones'. The number of towns continues to grow.
Resources for Fairtrade Towns
- Yahoo! Groups Fairtrade Towns email discussion group
- Join and speak to other campaigners who are involved in Fairtrade Towns (please note: this group is hosted on Yahoo!. The Fairtrade Foundation is not responsible for any advertising or content which appears on these pages).
- Make Your Town a Fairtrade Town pack (? KB, PDF)
- The Co-operative College's excellent pack.
- Fairtrade Towns Terms of Reference (? KB, PDF)
- Example of Fairtrade Towns Terms of Reference.
- Council Motion Supporting Fairtrade (? KB, PDF)
- Example of a council motion supporting Fairtrade.
- Fairtrade Town Group Constitution (? KB, DOC)
- Example of a Fairtrade Town Group Constitution.
- Global Partners: Fairtrade and Local Authorities Guide (? KB, PDF)
- Download Oxfam's guide.
- Campaign groups
- The Fairtrade Foundation website has links to other campaign groups.
More resources at The Fairtrade Foundation
The Fairtrade Foundation has more information on Fairtrade Towns, Schools, Universities and Churches (including the criteria needed to be met in order to become a Fairtrade Church or School).
