Facts and Fun - Fairtrade in Action
Munch it! Wear It! Taste it! Choose it!

Change Today. Choose Fairtrade. This is the theme of Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 (26th February – 11th March), the annual promotional campaign of the Fairtrade Foundation which encourages people to buy products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark.

The Fairtrade New Mills Steering Group are proud to be able to welcome a genuine Fairtrade coffee producer from Uganda to New Mills. The visitor will join local people for an evening of facts and fun at the Volunteer Centre in New Mills. The event, on Tuesday 27^th February, starts at 7.30pm and includes an interactive talk, a chance to meet a Fairtrade coffee grower from Uganda and a fun quiz with Fairtrade prizes including wine, chocolates and a Fairtrade recipe book! This event is free and will also give visitors the opportunity to sample Fairtrade wine and snacks.

There will also be a chance to sample Fairtrade products at the Co-op Pioneer Store on Church Road, in New Mills from 10am until 12 on Saturday 3^rd March. Come along and taste the Fairtrade treats on offer and take advantage of the Co-op’s offer of 20% off all Fairtrade products during Fairtrade Fortnight! And that’s not all; there will also be a coffee morning at the New Mills Volunteer Centre on Wednesday 7^th March with a Fairtrade theme. Call in anytime between 12 and 3.30pm to see what is on offer.

Fairtrade Foundation Executive Director Harriet Lamb said “We want people to understand that by changing to the huge range of Fairtrade products now available they are empowering others to work for a better life. Fairtrade has been embraced enthusiastically by people in the UK but we still need more and more people to choose Fairtrade so that more farmers can sell more of their produce under Fairtrade terms.” So what better way to get involved than by taking part in the quiz on the 27^th February, tasting the treats on offer in the Church Road Co-op on the 3^rd March and having a well deserved cuppa at the volunteer centre on March 7th.

“With everything from peppercorns, cinnamon and vanilla pods, to avocados and grapes to rum and wine, to blueberry muffins, there is something for everyone in Fairtrade,” says Harriet Lamb. “Many people still only think of tea and coffee when they think of Fairtrade, but there is now a huge range of products, and a huge range of choice within each product category. So there is something for everyone among the 2,000 Fairtrade retail and catering products - and Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 is a great time for people to make the change and choose Fairtrade.”

For further information about Fairtrade New Mills visit our page on www.newmillsweb.com or email fairtrade.newmills@yahoo.co.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. New Mills was awarded Fairtrade Town Status in September last year. Fairtrade mark and fairly traded goods can be bought at a variety of shops in the town including the Organic Shop and Marie Brown Design.

2. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body that awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards set by FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International). This independent consumer label appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than five million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.

4. The estimated retail value of sales of Fairtrade products in the UK in 2005 was £195m, a 40% increase on 2004. The Fairtrade Foundation expects sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark to at least maintain the pace of recent years, doubling every two years.

Forthcoming Events

Saturday 25th November 1pm - 3.30pm:
Christmas Shopping Fayre Cavendish Room, Palace Hotel, Buxton - FREE ADMISSION

Friday 1^st December 5pm - 7pm:

New Mills Primary School Christmas Fayre

Monday 4^th December 4pm – 8pm:

New Mills Late night shopping and Christmas Light Switch On – including fun fair, live music and mulled wine

Wednesday 6^th December 9.30am – 3pm:

Remould – Fair Trade Clothing stall at Buxton University in the Dome FREE ENTRY

Come and join

Remould – Fair Trade Clothing

at the above events

www.remouldclothing.co.uk

Remould. Rethink your ways…Reshape your World!

LOCAL BUSINESSES OFFER CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IDEAS

With barely a month to go, are you stumped for new and unusual presents this Christmas? If so, visit the Palace Hotel in Buxton on Saturday 25th November where local businesses will be selling a range of attractive and distinctive products.

The varied stalls will include a display of high-quality children’s waterproofs and original Fair Trade clothing, plus rare breed sheep products and hand-made wool crafts. There will be specialists in bespoke wedding stationery and handmade bridal tiaras, a stand selling Virgin ‘V’ make-up and jewellery, and even professional garden designers on hand for a really different seasonal gift!

All the businesses exhibiting are run by local women, and the afternoon display is part of a day-long event called ‘New Directions for Women’, involving workshops and training sessions for local women entrepreneurs. The event is being organised by the Leader+ Women’s Enterprise Project, hosted by Derbyshire Chamber and Business Link in partnership with East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and WIRE(Women in Rural Enterprise).

FREE ADMISSION

The stalls will feature small businesses owned and run by local women offering a range of distinctive and top-quality products and services, including:

•  high-quality children’s waterproofs
•  original Fair Trade clothing
•  wool crafts
•  bespoke wedding stationery
•  Virgin ‘V’ make-up & jewellery
•  rare breed sheep products
•  professional garden designers
•  hand-made bridal tiaras
•  paintings
•  wedding & corporate event florist
•  Hand made candles

10 ideas for an ethical & charitable festive season:

1. Looking for a gift for the person who has everything? Why not visit Oxfam’s website and take a look at their unusual gift range from a mango grove to a goat! Surprise the friend with everything, with something that’ll help people in third world countries make a better life for themselves. www.oxfamunwrapped.com

2. Treasure hunt! That’s right; instead of sticking to your usual shopping haunts why not investigate the goodies charity shops have to offer. Many of them are like Aladdin’s caves, with unusual items to be found and bargains to be had. And don’t forget all the money you spend will go to charity!

3. Recycle! Have you got an old necklace or beaded bracelet that you’ve had enough of? Get creative, take it to pieces and make something new. You don’t have to make a new bracelet or necklace, what about putting together a pair of earrings or using the beads to decorate a plain black bag ready for the festive parties. The possibilities really are endless.

4. When shopping for Christmas cards look out for charity ones, where a percentage of the profits go to charity. You can feel pleased with yourself for helping a charity and your friends will know the card they receive has helped a good cause.

5. Decorate and innovate! Collect together pine cones (only ones that have already fallen from the tree) and make them in to beautiful and original decorations. Simply attach some ribbon to hang them from and decorate them with glitter, paint, tinsel or anything else sparkly that you can get your hands on. If you have children get them involved too, it’s great fun and a good way to keep the children entertained while they count the days until Santa arrives!

6. Make sure you pay a fair price for your presents! To make sure that the presents you buy are made in an ethical way look for goods that are fairly traded. This means the producer has been paid a fair price for their product, that there is no child labour and that good working conditions have been provided. Fair trade products are often a bit different too, so you can have fun finding something unusual for the friend with everything. Make sure you buy products with the Fairtrade mark or from businesses who are accredited by groups like BAFTS or IFATS to ensure the item you are buying really has been traded fairly.

7. Christmas is the season for festive parties and plenty of family celebrations. Fair trade food products are widely available on the high street with many supermarkets now stocking fairly traded food products from coffee and tea to honey, bananas and chocolate brownies. There are also lots of fair trade baking products for when you get around to making the Christmas cake. Don’t forget to look for vegetables and meats that are grown/reared in the UK, they are likely to be fresher and you are supporting local economies by shopping locally.

8. Wrapping with a difference. Be creative and experiment with wrapping up the prezzies. Have you tried using newspaper or a pretty page from a magazine? It sounds a bit mad but if you choose the right page and then add some thick, bright ribbon wrapping with unusual materials can look fantastic and the fact that you’re recycling in the process is just a bonus.

9. Recycle your Christmas tree. Many Councils operate local recycling services for Christmas trees, they shred them and use them as fertiliser. Some schemes even offer something back, a few years ago I took mine to a local nature reserve and in return I got free admission into the reserve, it looked beautiful covered in crisp white snow and it was a great opportunity to burn off all the Christmas food with a nice walk.

10. What else can you recycle after the festive season? Wrapping paper, cards, all those wine and beer bottles, boxes and packaging, vegetable and food scraps and the Christmas TV guide! Many Councils operate collection schemes but if yours doesn’t most supermarkets have recycling areas. And while you’re at it, why not blitz your wardrobe and cupboards after the addition of all those new gifts, have a clear out and fill a charity bag in the process. As the saying goes one mans junk is another mans treasure!

Brought to you by Remould – Fair Trade Clothing

enquiries@remouldclothing.co.uk

Remould. Rethink your ways…Reshape your World.