Fair Trade
You have the opportunity to speak out for FAIRTRADE, promote FAIRTRADE as a positive and viable way forward for your consumer choices and make a real difference to the lives and livelihoods of our neighbours in the developing world who produce so much of the food and products we consume.
You may want to ask your church leader, head-teacher or your boss to consider making the switch to FAIRTRADE supplies. Give them a sample of the products (chocolate always works well!). Ask if you can create a display, or speak at assembly, a staff meeting or in a church service to share the information with others. You could also ask the manager of your local supermarket to stock more FAIRTRADE goods and your local council to look into becoming a FAIRTRADE city. As a FAIRTRADE organisation, the Salvation Army is a keen advocate for FAIRTRADE. Our work with communities in the developing world is always based on FAIRTRADE principles and on enabling people to get the best deal they can for the products they produce. This enables more opportunity for education, better health prospects and a sustainable, steady income for the people involved.
There are a whole range of free resources that are available from the FAIRTRADE Foundation that will help you profile FAIRTRADE in your school, workplace, church or community centre.
What can you do to Help?
As an individual, you can not only choose to have a Fair Trade household but you can promote Fairly Traded products in your community - in church, at school, at work.
Check out the Fair Trade web site for tools that will help you get the message across. As an organisation, The Salvation Army has endorsed the Fair Trade principle and it is up to individual Corps and Centres to promote this in their local setting and find a Fair Trade supplier for products of your choice.
You can even search for suppliers in your area
Share the Habit
Making the choice to “go FAIRTRADE” is a simple one. You simply choose to buy products that have been marked by the FAIRTRADE logo. Most major supermarket stores sell FAIRTRADE products, but there are also a number of catalogue-order companies and wholesalers who you can buy from as well.
