Step 1. Spreading the word
- Holding a successful Fairtrade stall
- Sweet Injustice: The chocolate game
- Winning them over: Frequently Asked Questions
- From football to fashion shows: More ideas for Fairtrade events
Step 2. Get Fairtrade products stocked in your school or university
Step 3. Becoming a Fairtrade school or university
- What’s it all about?
- The 5 Fairtrade school goals
- The 5 Fairtrade university goals
- My school or uni already has Fairtrade Status - What now?
- Planning your approach
- Writing a proposal
- Responding to objections
- Getting Certified
Has your school or university already got Fairtrade status?
Great! But once you achieve Fairtrade status, don’t stop there! Fairtrade status involves an ongoing commitment to the principles of fair trade. As far as possible, everything your school or university does, and everything it purchases and sells, should declare that it is an institution committed to engaging fairly with producers in the global south. Students, teachers, and staff should all be involved in this ongoing commitment — looking for new ways to ensure the institution’s commitment to these principles.
Institutions with Fairtrade status have to report annually to show how they are continuing to take action. It’s really important that students stay engaged to keep the commitment alive!
Check out who represents the student body on the Fairtrade Steering Group — it may be members of the People & Planet group, or another campaign group, or a student union representative. Hopefully, the steering group is active, there’s lots of activity, and they’ll welcome new ideas. If not, then get involved!
If your school, college or university has committed to Fairtrade status and the principles that underly it, then it can be a great lever for persuading them to do more. New Fairtrade products are becoming available all the time — Fairtrade cotton and footballs are among the most recent. So staff uniforms, school uniforms, sports team uniforms - if your institution claims to be committed to a policy of fairness and against exploitation, insist they get all of these made from Fairtrade cotton!
The FAIRTRADE Mark does not yet apply to manufactured products, but the issue of workers´ rights in these areas is still crucial. One logical extension to your Fairtrade campaign is to organise resistance to exploitation in these fields. Look at the rest of the supply chain: you could ask your school or university to ensure that the goods they buy and use are not manufactured in sweatshops.
Fairtrade Status and beyond!
Warwick University achieved Fairtrade Status in 2004, but thanks to the P&P group’s continued campaigning their Students´ Union has just passed a policy that makes them 100% Fairtrade!
1,650 people voted on the motion, with 92 people abstentions, 251 against the motion, and a massive 1,307 in favour. That means 79% of Warwick students support Fairtrade! The motion applies to tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar, speciality tea, fruit, fruit juice, and vending machines.
David from the Warwick group adds:
“And, perhaps the groundbreaking achievement… Staff and Union Officers´ uniforms will now be made from Fairtrade cotton, as well as being made in factories guaranteeing International Labour Organisation labour standards (=sweatshop free labour). We can be very proud of what we have achieved, this policy will make a real difference to real people´s lives.”
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