How you can help
Your church, club or place of work could informally adopt a Fairtrade policy, by seeking to purchase appropriate items, such as, coffee, biscuits, from fairly traded sources. There are now more than 2,000 product lines available.There are now more than 2,000 product lines available.
The Diocese of Winchester achieved formal Fairtrade status by reaching the target for the number of its churches serving Fairtrade products. There is still work to do with helping churches increase their use and promotion of products that have been fairly traded. The 2008 campaign focused on encouraging more people to try introducing new Fairtrade products into their homes and churches.
A spokesperson for the Diocese said: "By spending a little more on a fairly traded product we are helping to improve the prospects of the people who have grown and produced the goods for us to enjoy. It is a sad fact that many people are forced into poverty through our desire to buy cheaply and unfair international trade rules. By choosing a Fairtrade endorsed product we really can make a difference.
"We are pleased to say that more than 40 per cent of the churches in the Diocese of Winchester have already caught the vision and only serve Fairtrade tea and coffee at it functions and services, with many selling Fairtrade products too. We hope that our witness to the positive benefits of Fairtrade will be taken up by the wider population. Together the church and community can stop some of the terrible poverty that affects producers and workers in the Developing World. There are many ways that we can get involved by arranging tastings and events or raising awareness." Information packs for churches are available from either Frances Ter Haar in the Discipleship Department at frances.terhaar@winchester.anglican.org or the Fairtrade Foundation.
External links
Fairtrade Foundation
More information about the Fairtrade Foundation is available here
Traidcraft
This charity helps to fight poverty through trade visit them here
Recipes for Disaster cookbook
This encourages readers to use fairly traded products where available and raises money for Tearfund, a Christian relief and development charity. The relevant site is here