About

Who we are

Members of different groups which support Fairtrade (Christian Aid, CAFOD, Traidcraft, Women’s Institute, Townswomen’s Guild) originally joined together for action during Fairtrade Fortnight in 2001. From this was formed The Preston and South Ribble Fairtrade Group which coordinates Fairtrade activity throughout the year, particularly during Fairtrade Fortnight, and is the public face of Fairtrade within Preston and South Ribble.

Currently the Chairman is Anne Garsed; Vice-Chairman Cath Greenlees; Secretary John Wareing; Treasurer Alan Woods.

We are always in need of more volunteers to get involved in Fairtrade. Please do contact us is you would like to help in any way.

What is Fairtrade?

Fairtrade seeks to transform the lives of poor producers in the developing world by enabling them to use their skills and resources to trade their way out of poverty.

Fairtrade in Preston

Preston was declared a Fairtrade city in June 2004 by the then mayor Councillor Pat Woods.

Fairtrade in South Ribble

The group, in conjunction with South Ribble Borough council, has worked to gain Fairtrade status for the borough of South Ribble over a number of years.

What we do

Within the Preston and South Ribble area we aim to increase awareness of Fairtrade and encourage the use of fairly traded products. Fairtrade provides workers with a fair price for their products and decent working conditions. This is one of the most effective ways of fighting poverty in the developing world.

Since the Fairtrade group came into being just before Fairtrade Fortnight 2001, we have been active in the following ways:

Awareness raising/education in churches, schools and other groups.
We have prepared and circulated packs to churches and schools and flyers to community groups and have responded to invitations from them and from many other groups and individuals for information, talks, Fairtrade stalls and presentation of Fairtrade pledges. We organised a schools competition in March 2003, March 2004, March 2005 and March 2008. We also offer a Fairtrade pledge to groups.
Awareness raising with specific bodies.
We have had talks with various bodies including Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Purchasing Authority, Booths, Sainsbury's, Royal Preston Hospital, City Centre Management, Markets Management, Chamber of Trade, Preston Strategic Partnership, Preston Community Network, Voluntary Sector Organisation, University of Central Lancashire.
We have organised events and activities during Fairtrade Fortnight each year, including hosting a banana farmer from the Windward Islands in March 2003, 2 mango growers from Burkina Faso in March 2006 and a banana farmer from the Dominican Republic in March 2008.
We have set up and maintain a well-used website (www.fairpreston.org.uk)
We conducted an audit and visitation of premises in Preston to find which outlets/cafes already use Fairtrade and to persuade others to do so. This information was the basis of the original Fairtrade Directory which came out in June 2004, but which is constantly being updated. Monitoring existing premises and seeking to extend their number is an ongoing process.
We have written countless letters and emails to shops, wholesalers, companies and many other organisations to raise awareness of Fairtrade.