Taking Action 1: Spreading the word

Creating demand for Fairtrade products in your school or university is one of the simplest ways of making sure producers in the global south are not exploited; and there are some fairly easy (and enjoyable!) things you can do to make this happen. By creating demand you´re also laying the groundwork for further campaigning!

As students, you have access to a large number of people in a small area - people who are always very keen on a bit of free food and drink. So holding Fairtrade tastings is an ideal way of attracting interest and showing that Fairtrade products are just as good — and often better — than products without the FAIRTRADE Mark.

Don’t forget to be clear that Fairtrade is not about charity. It´s about producers getting a fair price and decent trading conditions in return for providing consumers with a quality product. There´s a wide range of Fairtrade products available, and thus something to suit every taste. Sales of Fairtrade products have risen by 1,167% in the last five years. This wouldn´t have happened if they didn´t taste good. The proof, however, is of course in the Fairtrade pudding!

Holding a stormingly successful Fairtrade tasting…

Truro College P&P managed to collect over 1000 student signatures for their Fairtrade product petition at the chocolate tasting stall they held in college during Fairtrade Fortnight.

In 2004, 60 P&Pers held a coffee break outside the Department for Trade and Industry. Gemima Mukashyaka, a coffee producer from Rwanda, and the students told the Director of Trade Policy about the impact of trade rules on poor producers, and the difference that Fairtrade makes. They handed in a petition calling on the government to play its part in making trade fair.

• Set up a stall somewhere in your school or university where lots of students pass by and at a time when they can stop (e.g. a lunch break).

• Decorate the stall with posters (such as those provided in P&P’s Fairtrade campaign pack), and information about Fairtrade. You could also make banners out of old sheets.

• Give out free cups of Fairtrade tea and coffee, or orange juice. You can also use the chocolate samples included in P&P’s campaign pack, and many other Fairtrade products are available. If you want more samples try asking your local supermarket or Oxfam shop to donate some. You will need to borrow or hire an urn, perhaps from your canteen or students’ union and buy some Fairtrade sugar, and milk. You can use paper cups, but it is greener to borrow proper cups. If you do this, people will have to wait by the stall whilst drinking and you can talk to them about Fairtrade!

• Give information on Fairtrade to people who stop

• Tell everyone who stops about Fairtrade. (You might find it useful to practice explaining with each other beforehand). Use briefing information from this website to let people know that world trade, as it is, isn´t fair. Don´t make it too complicated — explain that producers in the global south often don´t get a decent price for their work or crops. Explain how the power of rich countries and corporations can lead to exploitation and trade practices that work against the poorest countries in the world. And how Fairtrade can make a huge difference by guaranteeing producers decent and fair working conditions.

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