Fairtrade fortnight starts 28th February, the theme’s cotton, and this year Fairtrade Association Birmingham (FAB) are putting on more events than ever!
This week will also witness binning of the last of my dubiously sourced Calvin Classic underwear. About the same time as I bought my last poor quality pants (and first of many fairtrade ones), I started hanging out with FAB, shortly after we had become a fairtrade city in 2005 and before behind the game, and other cotton and slavery related school projects I got involved in.
Team FAB united have outstanding qualities – captain John Boyle (see image), a great all-rounder and cooperative man, never without an anecdote or chocolate, sweeper Paul Birch from Revolver, always there to support, safe hands Lorraine Cookson from the council, never let’s a good promotion opportunity slip by.
Then there’s the likes of Gill, Jane and Sylvia, always there, distributing the goods, academics, international stars who check fairtrade out abroad, me and Sushan making occasional runs down the wing, feeding play to the real stars, the folk who just do fairtrade, and those who want everyone else to. Which reminds me, a quick plea on behalf of small local charity LUCIA (FAB members) – they are looking for school uniforms and a possible school partnership with a school in Ethiopia. It’s a great opportunity and anyone any ideas, contact LUCIA directly.
This year marks an increase in our support for young people campaigning for fairtrade in Birmingham. Co-op are working hard with children across the city and Kit on for fairtrade events are going on with adults and children. We are organising a network evening to launch our young people’s forum for Fairtrade, and throughout Fairtrade Fortnight the whole of year 8 (around 100 12-13 yr olds) at Holy Trinity Catholic Media College explore ‘Should all trade be fair?’
For Holy Trinity, most of ‘FAB united’ are playing a part on a project of scope and depth I’ve not heard of before. We will run a Fair Dragon’s Den at end of Fairtrade Fortnight, hearing the ideas and concepts of young people which I hope FAB can support and develop. Holy Trinity are looking to be our first Fairtrade school in Birmingham, and together with our other projects with young people, we will be looking to our future to make fair and ethical trade the norm across our great trading city!
At FAB, we like to think we’re all in it together. Why not join us?
—————
By Marcus Belben
For all things Fairtrade please contact FAB, contact me, Marcus Belben, or visit my blog.
This looks far more like an appeal from a pressure group than something that I come to CiB to find out about. More importantly, The Fair Trade lobby is about making us Westerners feel good about ourselves than doing anything to lift subsistence farmers in the developing world out of dire poverty and endless backbreaking work. I’ll certainly be avoiding Fair Trade Fortnight.
Birth 2 School » Blog Archive » Fairtrade Jumpers for Goalposts | Created in Birmingham
[…] the original post: Fairtrade Jumpers for Goalposts | Created in Birmingham Related Posts:School Crisis … Cyprus' first ecologically designed 'green' school, fails. A […]
Sorry to disappoint, but hope other readers might enjoy. CiB is about ‘linking up Birmingham’s Artistic and Creative Communities’, many of which do consider moral and ethical issues through their work in Birmingham. FAB work to bring together campaigners for fairer trade – check out the links in article to people (including me) who very much see themselves as part of Birmingham’s Artistic and Creative Communities.
No harm in us westerners feeling good (we aim to please), to think about life and stuff (what art is) and all the better if through fairer and ethical trade we empower artistic and creative communities outside Brum to take contol of their own lives and flourish. Again, check out fairtrade website for examples of this.
I wasn’t disappointed. You outlined your political position and I responded. That’s called debate, it’s a good thing and we need more of it. I don’t believe that Fair Trade or anything else should be beyond criticism or scrutiny, just because the cause seems worthy.
I did some work for a London charity (www.worldbytes.org) a few years back that made a documentary about Fair Trade, and visited Ghanian ‘Fair Trade’ cocoa plantation. I was really shocked at what was deemed to be ‘fair trade’ and I wouldn’t want to condemn my worst enemy to the tough and back-breaking existence that people there have to endure all their working lives. In my view people should be angry and campaigning for people in such places to have the same standards as us in the west (or better). As far as I can see, the Fair Trade movement is ultimately helping to keep the status quo by encouraging us to think that by buying the right products in our supermarkets, everything will be alright because workers in the developing world will receive the equivalent of a few more pennies.
So no, I am not disappointed, I just believed in discussion and debate with a view to figuring out to solve the problems we face.
Hi, sorry I thought first comment was suggesting no place for fairtrade in CiB.
As for effectiveness of fairtrade, I’ve not had opportunity to visit Ghana and can only go on experiences of colleagues and what I read. However poor conditions in fairtrade farms are, they do (I hope) meet certain standards – e.g. No child labour and no slavery, which exists outside fairtrade.
FAB wants to raise issues of injustice to challenge the status quo, to promote debate. I don’t think my ethics or morality is superior to anyone else’s. I only want people to think about what they are supporting by buying the goods they do. Fair trade is only part of solution, but it’s a start..
I don’t understand where you have impression of fairtrade comes, but sounds like in overall objectives, we agree.
Could you outline how you think we can challenge status quo and make a difference to the lives of the poorest communities across the world?