Tavistock Fairtrade Town Initiative is just one small link in a global Fairtrade chain but an incredibly important link.

Why does it exist? Because the people involved in it believe that being paid a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, having decent and safe working conditions and being able to provide for your family should be a basic human right. A premise that not many people would disagree with.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the imported goods we all buy on a weekly basis, like tea, coffee, chocolate and bananas, the pay and working conditions of the people in the countries that produce them have, more often than not, been secondary to the profit margins. There are many local businesses who agree and who have committed to selling Fairtrade products wherever possible. In Tavistock you can now buy a huge range of Fairtrade products including bags, babyfood, olive oil, bananas, wine, chocolates, jewellery and t-shirts, to name but a few. And after all that shopping you can settle down for a Fairtrade cup of tea or coffee or even a Fairtrade smoothie in one of a number of cafés around the town.

Other local community organisations like churches, schools, youth groups, councils and workplaces have also committed to using Fairtrade products wherever possible. The ways in which to support Fairtrade are many. You don’t have to run a cafe in order to support Fairtrade coffee, you can do your bit by simply asking for it whenever you stop for a cuppa. You could suggest that your workplace start using Fairtrade coffee, tea and hot chocolate in its staff room or you could even ask your child’s teacher if they had thought about using Fairtrade coffee for that essential mid-morning coffee break! And the next time you need to buy someone a present, make it a Fairtrade gift.

One of the most powerful weapons for change is consumer demand and we can all do our bit every day by supporting our local businesses and by asking for, buying and using Fairtrade whenever it is there as an alternative. And the work that the Tavistock Fairtrade Town Initiative has done, and is continuing to do, is to make sure that, in the not too distant future, the Fairtrade product is not the alternative option, but is the norm.

Tavistock Fairtrade Town Initiative, May 2008