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Fairtrade in Oswestry

• Shropshire's Fairtrade County Status Launch At Ironbridge Gorge Museum
• Oswestry Proud to be Awarded Fairtrade Town Status

For a complete list of the Fairtrade products sold in our shops and cafes, please log onto the Oswestry Fairtrade pages on http://www.daval.demon.co.uk/fairtrade/fairtrade.htm.

Fairtrade News

Shropshire's Fairtrade County Status Launch At Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Friday 13 July

Members of Shropshire Fairtrade Coalition are looking forward to the official launch of the county's Fairtrade status at Ironbridge Gorge Museum on Friday 13 July. We are delighted be hosted by Ironbridge Gorge Museum, the Flagship Employer. The launch formally completes a process begun in March 2005 at a gathering of Fairtrade sympathisers from across the county in Wellington.

Fairtrade status is not easy to achieve and is only given when a number of strict criteria have been met. These include endorsement by the local authorities, the wide availability of Fairtrade goods in local shops and cafes and good media coverage of Fairtrade issues. In addition we have had to ensure that at least one major employer uses Fairtrade products and we have been very pleased that the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust has now met these requirements.

Shropshire is one of only five counties in England to have achieved this award, and we believe it is the first Fairtrade County to include a unitary authority, Telford & Wrekin borough. It is a time to celebrate, but not for resting on laurels. Fairtrade status has to be earned, and The Fairtrade Foundation will be auditing our progress on a regular basis to ensure that our Fairtrade status can be maintained. We are already working on our future programme to spread the word further about Fairtrade.

Oswestry Proud to be Awarded Fairtrade Town Status

Oswestry was declared a Fairtrade Town in May 2006, having passed all the requirements laid down with flying colours.  An official launch was held in the Guildhall in July when the two mayors, Councillors Martin Bennett and Bill Keable, and North Shropshire MP, Owen Paterson, paid tribute to the town for its excellent support for farmers in the developing world and locally.

Buying products such as tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas and the like, which carry the Fairtrade Mark, is an easy way to make a big difference to the lives of producers in the poorest countries in the world. The Fairtrade Mark guarantees them a better deal and the chance to earn a decent living. Similarly, buying fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, eggs and other items which have been produced locally helps to support our own farmers and producers.

Shoppers in Oswestry have plenty of opportunities to buy such top quality products, knowing that the producers get a fair price which goes direct to them, whether in this area or in developing countries. They obviously take full advantage of this by patronising no fewer than 9 shops, 6 cafes and 1 pub which sell Fairtrade products, as well as 4 local produce outlets. A very exciting addition has been Porters in the new Cambrian Visitor Centre.

This is an achievement to be proud of and has made the application for Fairtrade Town status very easy. Oswestry and District Fairtrade Group was formed in October 2004 with this aim in mind. It is an entirely voluntary group whose 10 members have been working to raise the profile of Fairtrade in the town. The campaign got off to a fine start with a resolution to endorse the application which Councillor Martin Bennett presented to both the Borough and Town Councils in 2005 and which they passed unanimously.

Along with an impressive number of retail and catering outlets, there are also 3 bed and breakfasts in the area, 5 churches, 2 primary schools, Walford College, and a number of small businesses and local organisation, including Local to Oswestry and Oswestry Borderland Tourism, all of which support Fairtrade in a practical way.

For further information on Fairtrade, for details of all the Fairtrade and local produce outlets, and for a complete list of the Fairtrade products sold in our shops and cafes, please log onto the Oswestry Fairtrade pages on www.daval.demon.co.uk.

Oswestry Fairtrade Certificate