Fair Trade

The congregation at the Good Shepherd Church were directed by their PCC, and agreed, to become a Fairtrade church.  The communion wine; also tea, coffee, and if possible any other refreshments served, are fairly traded products.

As it is a multi-cultural congregation and the ethos of fair-trade is global plus consistent with Christian values it made sense to take this step.

• The link person for this is currently Claire Picton.
  Please let her know if you are interested in helping promote Fairtrade - the more people who are involved the better it can be done.

In the car park we have a collection point for unwanted clothes, shoes and books, which is managed by Traid – see below for further information.

If you know about Fairtrade, skip down the page to the links.

Fairtrade is about providing a fair price for goods, produce and services, without a ‘middle man’ taking the profits. It is ethically and socially responsible. It is also a global issue as the people who tend to be most disadvantaged by unfair trade are likely to be in the south [also known as the developing world].

Below are some links that might help inform you about Fairtrade if you need more information. Or it may help you to source products. Many supermarkets now stock fairly traded food products – just look for the logo.

Below is a selection of websites, not an exhaustive list:

Fairtrade Foundation

www.fairtrade.org.uk

There are many links on this site to other sites.

What is Fair Trade?

Shared Interest

www.shared-interest.com

This company lends money to co-operatives in the south [also known as the developing world] at a fair interest rate. It allows people to start up or develop their business and then pay the money back so that it can be loaned to others. It is not a charity, so it gives people a helping hand without patronising them. It allows people in this country to invest their money in a company with ethical and social principles.

Clothing collection and also producers/suppliers

www.traid.org.uk

“Love fashion?  Hate its impact?

TRAID is a charity working to make the nations unwanted clothes matter.  We divert clothes from landfill at our textile recycling banks, and after hand sorting, we resell the best in our legendary TRAID shops. The profits raised support projects fighting inequality and exploitation in the global textile supply chain, and projects establishing environmental sustainability in some of the world's poorest communities.”

www.peopletree.co.uk
Fashion and general clothing that is Fairtrade. Emma Watson (actress who plays Hermione Grainger in the Harry Potter movies endorses the range).

www.bishopstontrading.co.uk
“Importing Directly from Rural India with the Sole Aim of Fair Trading”

Chocolate

www.divinechocolate.com

Other food products
www.co-operative.coop
www.traidcraftshop.co.uk

Get involved! Its God’s world and all people matter!