Fairtrade Fortnight

This morning I was very pleased to speak on behalf of the Dundee Fairtrade Forum at a Civic Breakfast for Fairtrade Fortnight.  I was really pleased that the Lord Provost was hosting this event.

You can watch the video here to find out about the themes for Fairtrade Fortnight this year.

Some of the main points of my speech can be read below.

It is great to be here today to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight.  Today we are marking the tenth anniversary of Dundee being named as a fairtrade city and the first anniversary of Scotland being named as a fairtrade country.

 



The picture shows me speaking at the Fairtrade Breakfast in the City Chambers

It is important to support fairtrade because it is important that we have a concern about how products we use are produced.  We are responsible for the indirect consequences of how things are produced.  In some respects when we buy chocolate or a cup of coffee we are the indirect employer of the people who produce these products and therefore.

 

It is good that there is support for the idea of fairtrade right across the council.

Dundee City Council does have a strong policy on fairtrade.  We also need to look at what else can be done and move away from just tea and coffee and chocolate and bring fairtrade into wider aspects of procurement  Indeed the Procurement Bill currently before the Scottish Parliament has the potential to bring fairtrade to a wider range of goods

Fairtrade Fortnight this year is about bananas.  It is about ensuring that producers receive a fair price for their produce.  It was good that one of the main (and earliest) supporters of selling fairtrade bananas Scotmid was able to sponsor some of the food for today's event.

It is great to see so many schools represented here today.  It is was also good to hear about the work promoting fairtrade in Morgan Academy in particular. 

I want to thank you for taking the time to come here today.  To thank you for showing that you care about the way people are treated.