Pictured: Swansea Fair Trade Forum

Wales has seen continued solidarity for Fair Trade this Fairtrade Fortnight, as campaigners all over the country advocated for Fair Pay for farmers globally. 

Between 21 September and 4 October, over 40 Fair Trade events took place across the country, including: coffee mornings, football matches, community walks, church services, quizzes, school assemblies, panel discussions, food tastings, litter picks, and more. 

This year’s theme was Fair Pay, focusing on the farmers and makers who are still paid less than it costs to produce the items that we enjoy every day in the UK.

At the Senedd

On 29 September, Fair Trade Wales hosted ‘Meet the Movement’ at the Senedd, sponsored by Kiera Marshall MS. Fair Trade communities, supporters and businesses from across Wales came together to meet their Senedd Members. We heard from Martin Kinyua, coffee farmer and Assistant Manager at Mutira Farmers Cooperative Society in Kenya, about why Fairtrade matters to his community, and from Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams MS, who said:

“We come together with a shared commitment: to fairness, to dignity and to global responsibility. These values are at the heart of Wales’ approach to international engagement, and of our support for Fair Trade.”

Watch our YouTube video of the day here:

In Swansea, Aileen Burmeister, Head of Fair Trade Wales, spoke at ‘Fair Pay for Farmers Locally and Globally’ hosted by Swansea Fair Trade Forum. We also joined the celebrations for the opening of ‘Up to Africa’, a new space for Fair Trade goods from Africa at Fair and Fabulous in Newcastle Emlyn.

Across Wales

• Fairtrade Pontypridd hosted a ‘Design a Wooden Toy’ competition for children and young people, in collaboration with Lanka Kade – a Fair Trade toy business. 
• Dinas Powys saw Fairtrade coffee mornings and afternoons at all four of the village’s primary schools, with assemblies and performances from the pupils themselves.
• Swansea Fair Trade Forum walked 5 miles from The Environment Centre to Mumbles, stopping for Fairtrade coffee and finishing with Palestinian snacks. 
• The Fair Trade in Football Campaign supported Cosheston School’s Fair Trade Cup tournament and Kilgetty Association Football Club’s football matches with Bala Sport Fairtrade footballs. 
• Clydach saw a Fair Trade library display for the whole Fortnight, a Fair Trade service at Capel y Nant, and a coffee morning that raised £200 for Transform Trade.
• In Abergavenny, Love Zimbabwe led the ‘March for Africa’ at the Abergavenny Food Festival, raising awareness about Fair Trade, food security, and community resilience in Zimbabwe.
• Bangor University hosted a bake sale, a Fairtrade tea and coffee stall during Freshers’ Week that reached around 200 students, a quiz and a coffee morning at Emaus Chapel. 
• The Mayor of Penarth hosted an event at West House in aid of Calon Hearts, with Co-op Fairtrade refreshments.
• In Llantwit Major, over 70 people came to an event at Chatty Caffi with the Co-op, and over 40 young people from the Boys’ Brigade, Scouts and Club Illtud took part in a role play about fair pay and highlighting everyone involved in banana supply chains.

And there were many more brilliant efforts all over Wales.

Every Fair Trade event and each conversation sparked by them brings us closer to a world where everyone is paid fairly. Everything we buy in the UK should guarantee fair pay, safe working conditions, and care for the environment. 

The Fairtrade Foundation is calling on the UK government to pass a new law that would ensure all businesses address human rights abuses and climate damage behind their products.

Sign the petition today.