Fairtrade has become part of Bristol's Big Green Week, demonstrating how buying Fairtrade products makes sense environmentally, as well as being fair and just.
Bristol is one of the UK’s leading cities
for sustainable development and Bristol’s Big Green Week taps into the
city’s rich resource of green expertise and practical experience.
Fairtrade helps to tackle climate change in
many ways because to gain Fairtrade certification all producers have to meet
the international Fairtrade standard. This means farmers must protect the
natural environment (for example not cut down forests), minimise the use of
energy, water and pesticides, and implement health and safety measures for all
workers.
The world-class festival of
sustainability, hosted by the city of Bristol, has brought together leading
global experts and thinkers to share ideas and inspiration on developing a
green future.
Fairtrade is helping to advance
this future by giving workers a Fairtrade
premium for investment in economic, social and environmental projects, as well as a fair price that covers cost of
production and basic living costs. Coffee famers in Costa Rica have used the
premium to replant trees to prevent soil erosion, move to organic farming, and
to invest in environmentally friendly ovens, fuelled by recycled coffee hulls
and nut shells, so they no longer cut rainforest trees.
Climate change is having the most impact in
the poorest countries, even though they are least responsible for carbon
emissions. Fairtrade is working with farmers in these countries to enable them
to deal with the impact of climate change, by providing training on irrgation
methods, diversification to less water-dependant crops and produce they can
sell locally, so they are less dependent on global trade.
As nearly all Fairtrade products are
shipped to the UK, their carbon footprint is very low. Fairtrade supports and
enables the continuation of small-scale farming which is sustainable and low
carbon by its very nature.
So, with the city of Bristol dedicating
itself to a green future there’s never been a better time to Take a Step for
Fairtrade – buying more Fairtrade products at home, using Fairtrade at work and
introducing Fairtrade into your community group.
