London Celebrates World Fair Trade Day
by Bonnie Alter, London 
on 05.12.06
London kicked off World Fair Trade Day by doing what it does best: shopping at markets. People Tree, one of the oldest and most respected fair trade fashion design companies, has organised “Fashion Made Fair”--a sale and showcase over the next four days of the best of ethical fashion. There is a wide assortment of brands for sale that many Treehuggers have now become familiar with such as howies ( tee-shirts), Terra Plana, Ciel ( women’s clothing), equa, THTC ( tee-shirts) and Beyond Skin and Worn Again ( ethical shoes). Hundreds of hip and green Londoners were lining up to try on and buy these clothes, encouraged by an 80 % off discount! Adding to the festivities were free goodies from Fair Trade food and drink companies including Traidcraft wine, fruit from AgroFair, nuts from Equal Exchange and a Divine ( heavenly chocolate with a heart) Fairtrade chocolate fountain. There were posters promoting the fair trade concept and lots of interesting hand-outs, including copies of Ecologist magazine. People Tree’s goal was to explain to the public that all the fair trade organizations involved “are calling on 65 nations to push Fair Trade to the front of the political agenda and are campaigning for the public around the world to choose Fair Trade. IFAT’s member organisations are also using the day as an opportunity to highlight their pioneering work in alleviating poverty through trade, and proving themselves as excellent role models for business sustainability.” The key is to promote these important policies to the public while keeping their interest in political issues. It was clear that for this crowd Fair Trade does not mean dull and boring. :: Daily Candy
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I went and it was great - I picked up loads of discounted People Tree stuff and a pair of cool Worn Again trainers that are 99% recycled. I'll definitely be going next year
World Fair Trade Day 09 has a new website created by the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), phase 1 went live on 08 08 08 and the 2nd phase will be complete in 6-8 weeks. The site is dedicated to authentic Fair Trade (the type that takes total commitment) and is tangible evidence of IFAT's Agenda for Change program that also includes the development of their Sustainable Fair Trade Management System (SFTMS) will provide a mechanism for organizations to transform their business, and the emergence of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). www.worldfairtradeday09.org