THE LIVING ROOMS

Eco Echo column May 2010

A Big Day For The Planet

The UK’s Fairtrade Foundation can be justly proud of the work it has done to raise awareness of the importance of fair trade amongst consumers in the UK, especially through its hugely successful Fair Trade Fortnight, which takes place every February.  There can be few people in Britain who have not been touched by its campaigns in some way, even if it unknowingly drinking Fair Trade tea in a café.

But the Foundation’s work, great though it is, is dwarfed by a global organisation called the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO), which organises the biggest awareness campaign of them all in this field – World Fair Trade Day, which this year falls on Saturday 8th May.

As the name suggests, this is a global event, with thousands of events being organised by the WFTO’s 350 member organisations in more than 70 countries.  This really is about the whole planet pulling together.  And yet will we hear much about it in UK press (apart, of course from our own Eco Echo)?  I certainly hope so.

It’s worth quoting the WFTO’s declaration about what it is calling ‘A Big Day for the Planet’: “Fair Trade is a tangible and efficient response to poverty, economic and global food crises and climate change.  The economic crisis confirms the need for trade to deliver sustainable livelihoods and development opportunities to small producers in the poorest countries of the world.  This is evidenced by the fact that a third of the world population survives on less than $2 per day.”

Of course, by 8th May we may well be watching a new UK Government settling in.  Uppermost in the minds of whoever makes it into No.10 will be tackling our Budget deficit, and that is sure to lead to some tough decisions, quite possibly impacting on the amount we as a country allocate for overseas aid. 

So it’s never been so important that we as individuals do everything we can to help people in the developing world build a sustainable future.  What better opportunity to signal that intent than to join millions of people right across the world in supporting World Fair Trade Day, whether by voicing your support for Fair Trade, helping to spread the message; or by changing your consumption habits and ensuring that you spend your money with producers and suppliers who are trading ethically, not just for this one day, but on an ongoing basis.  Then it genuinely will become a ‘Big Day for the Planet’.
 

Article published in Eco Echo May 2010