Fairtrade logo

Pupils at the school had made a presentation to the Town Council, which showed that producers of certain foods, for example, coffee and tea received only a minimal amount of the price paid by the consumer in England.

The Town Council established a Working Party to promote the Fair Trade concept and gave the pupils the lion share of representation on the Group. They also invited Churches Together, Greyfriars Community Centre and the Chamber of Trade to join with them to promote ways of overcoming the exploitation of producers in under-developed countries.

Cllr Brian Terry, Chairman of the Working Group, says that ‘the Town Council is delighted that the students brought the issues to the Council’s attention. Ringwood will now apply to become a Fair Trade town’.

As part of that initiative members of the Working Party will be manning a stall opposite the Tourist Information Centre in the Furlong car park in Ringwood between 10am and 1pm on Saturday 11 March.

They are hoping to encourage members of the public to purchase Fair Trade products. Two local suppliers, Ace Office Supplies of Bournemouth working with Café Direct and Coffee Mill Services of Christchurch are hoping to be present on the day. Brochures from Traidcraft, another supplier, will also be available to view.

Separately, the Town Council will be canvassing support of all commercial premises, including shops, asking them to stock or supply to their staff Fair Trade products. Businesses that agree to support the initiative will be included in a free Directory being designed and prepared by the School’s pupils.

The Directory will also be displayed on the Council’s and School’s websites. Cllr Terry says that the Council invited the Chamber of Trade onto the Working Party, particularly so that they could obtain their support and so that the Council could apply for Ringwood to obtain Fair Trade accreditation, which will show everyone that the people of Ringwood do support producers in much less developed countries.