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The Fair Trade Towns campaign is the result of a grass-roots citizens movement that started in the UK in 2001 (see below). It allows citizens to get together in order to self-proclaim their town (or other local geographical area) as a region that complies with a few general Fair Trade criteria, that can be adapted from country to country but which retain their main elements. In some countries, the Fair Trade Town became a status awarded by a recognized Fair Trade certification body (i.e. the Fairtrade Foundation in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
,
TransFair Canada Fairtrade Canada, formerly TransFair Canada, is a national non-profit certification and public education organization promoting Fairtrade certification, Fairtrade certified products in Canada to improve the livelihood of developing world farmers a ...
in Canada etc.) describing an area which is committed to the promotion of Fair Trade certified goods. By extension, the organizations also award the statuses of Fair Trade City, Fair Trade Village, Fair Trade Zone, Fair Trade Borough, Fair Trade Island, Fair Trade Country, and Fair Trade University.


History

The Fair Trade Town campaign was first launched in 2001 in
Garstang Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of Preston and the same distance south of Lancaster. In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268 ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, under the initiative of Bruce Crowther, a local
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford C ...
supporter, and the Garstang Oxfam Group. The initiative, which aimed to promote Fair Trade certified goods in the town, was highly successful: within a couple of months, awareness of the Fairtrade Mark jumped to over 70% in the town while sales of Fairtrade certified goods increased significantly. Moreover, over the course of the campaign, Garstang developed links with Fair Trade cocoa farming communities in West Africa, which led to the
twin town A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
relationship with New Koforidua,
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
.Garstang Fair Trade Town (2002)
Garstang Fair Trade Town
URL accessed on December 14, 2006.
As the activities at Garstang gained wider attention, the Fairtrade Foundation launched a set of Fair Trade Town Goals and an Action Guide to encourage others to follow in the town's success. During the 2001-2006 period, over 209 British towns were awarded the Fair Trade status by the Fairtrade Foundation. In October 2009 448 British towns and 312 towns worldwide (in total 760) were awarded the Fair Trade status. In November 2012, there were over 1200 worldwide. In an attempt to replicate the success of the Fairtrade Foundation's Fairtrade Town program, a Europe-wide program called "Fair Trade Towns in Europe", part-funded by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
, was launched jointly by several Fair Trade labelling initiatives. In November 2006, the first ever European Fair Trade Towns conference was hosted at London Southbank University. The goals of the conference were to *identify and develop procedures to strengthen the links within and between local communities and private and public organisations; *develop strategies to enable the UK Fair Trade Towns model to meet the requirements of each individual country. Following the success of the first event, a second Fair Trade towns conference was subsequently held in Brussels in January 2008. The sixth conference was held in Poznan (Poland) in November 2012, and the 2013 and 2014 international conferences are foreseen to take place in Oslo (Norway) and Kumamoto (Japan), respectively. There are currently Fair Trade Towns in Australia,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Both ...
, France,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, Italy,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...
, Germany, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. The
list of Fairtrade settlements Fairtrade Town is a status awarded by a recognized Fairtrade certification body (i.e. The Fairtrade Foundation in the UK, TransFair Canada in Canada etc.) describing an area which is committed to the promotion of Fairtrade certified goods. By ...
is a more comprehensive current list.


Criteria

Formal guidelines have been produced jointly by several
FLO ''Flo'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of ''Alice'' that aired on CBS from March 24, 1980, to June 30, 1981. The series starred Polly Holliday reprising her role as sassy and street-smart waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Cas ...
member Fairtrade labelling initiatives. To be awarded
Fair Trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...
status, an area must meet five criteria (exact numbers and proportions vary from country to country): * Local council passes a
resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual m ...
supporting
Fair Trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...
, and agrees to serve Fair Trade
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and norther ...
and coffee at its meetings and in its
office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific d ...
s and canteens. * A range of (at least two) Fair Trade products is readily available in the area's shops and local
café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-c ...
s/
catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major services b ...
establishments. ** Target for number of retail outlets: population of < 10000 - 1 retail outlet per 2500; population < 200000 - 1 retail outlet per 5000; population of < 500000 - 1 retail outlet per 10000. ** Target for number of catering outlets: population of < 10000 - 1 catering outlet per 5000; population < 200000 - 1 catering outlet per 10000; population of < 500000 - 1 catering outlet per 20000 * Fair Trade products are used by a number of local work places (
estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engage ...
s,
hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...
s, etc.) and community organisations (
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
es,
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
s, etc.) * Attract
media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass ...
coverage and popular support for the campaign. * A local Fair Trade steering group is convened to ensure continued commitment to its Fair Trade Town status.


Other initiatives

In 2002 The
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2 ...
Fair Trade Forum, a network of development NGOs and Fair Trade campaigners, began working to make Wales the world's first Fair Trade country. The idea was based upon the Fair Trade Town scheme run by the Fairtrade Foundation in the UK. In 2005 The
Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
agreed to back the idea and in 2006 Fair Trade groups from
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
and Wales agreed the criteria for becoming a Fair Trade country. The draft criteria for a "Fair Trade Nation" ar

* 75% of the population should purchase a Fair Trade product every year. * 40% of people regularly buy Fair Trade products. * All local authorities have active Fair Trade groups working towards Fair Trade status. * 55% local authority areas with Fair Trade status with 10% annual increase in following years Wales became the world's first Fair Trade nation in June 2008.


See also

*
Transition Towns The terms transition town, transition initiative and transition model refer to grassroot community projects that aim to increase self-sufficiency to reduce the potential effects of peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instabilitythrough r ...
* List of Fair Trade settlements


References

{{Fair trade Fair trade