FAIRTRADE ZONE STATUS

The national body which regulates fair trade certification in the UK is the Fairtrade Foundation. The Foundation awards certification to different types of organisation or locations, based upon specific defined criteria. Fairtrade Towns, Cities, Boroughs and Counties have all been declared – indeed, there are moves afoot to make Wales the first Fairtrade Country.

The vision statement for the Wokingham Fair Trade Campaign is very clear about the campaign’s aims –

“The inhabitants of Wokingham will actively support the principles of fair trade. The town’s community will be actively engaged in reducing world poverty, especially through educated purchasing.”

Gaining certification from the Fairtrade Foundation, therefore, is not our stated purpose.
However, we certainly recognise that Fairtrade Status is a key milestone upon our journey, and we aim to help local councils achieve it.

To gain Fairtrade Status, a Town, Borough or County needs to fulfil 5 criteria:

• The local council must pass a resolution supporting Fairtrade, and serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at its meetings and in offices and canteens.
• A range of Fairtrade products must be readily available in the area’s shops and served in local cafés and catering establishments (targets are set in relation to population)
• Fairtrade products must be used by a number of local work places (estate agents, hairdressers etc) and community organisations (churches, schools etc)
• The council must attract popular support for the campaign.
• A local Fairtrade steering group must be convened to ensure continued commitment to Fairtrade Town status.

WFTC recognises that the Borough is a very large area, with a big population (larger than many cities, in fact). Gaining certification for the whole Borough at one attempt is therefore not practical. Our strategy for Fairtrade Status follows a sequence, which is as follows:

1. Gain backing from the Borough council for the principle of working towards Fairtrade Status at all levels.
2. Work with the Town Councils of Earley, Wokingham and Woodley to gain Fairtrade Town Status for each of them. (This would account for about 90,000 of the Borough’s 150,000 population)
3. Work with the Parish Councils (of Twyford, Wargrave and Winnersh) and the Fairtrade Foundation to determine what certification options are available for them, and set out to achieve them.
4. Work with the Borough Council to gain Fairtrade Zone Status for the entire Borough
5. Make contact with, network with and work with other Fairtrade Campaigns in Berkshire with the objective of reaching Fairtrade County Status.

Related Pages About Fair Trade:

About fair trade
A brief introduction to fair trade, and why it is important.

Fair trade or FAIRTRADE
A brief description of the differences between the different types of fair trade, and Fairtrade certification.

Fairtrade standards
A brief description of standards that must be adhered to in order to gain Fairtrade certification

Fairtrade zone status
What is involved in achieving Fairtrade Foundation certification for towns, boroughs, and other areas

Fair trade for businesses
What business can do to support fair trade, and what can be done to encourage them.