Here is a leaflet we’ve drawn up to explain the task and encourage people to get on board.  Please feel free to pass this on to anyone who could be interested in supporting Fairtrade.

We have launched our campaign to renew Sudbury’s registration as a Fairtrade town.  The first meeting was small (7 people) but positive.  Now we’re looking to grow the Steering Group and widen the representation to include schools, churches, businesses, community organisations and the Town Council.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 15 January 2026 at 7.30 pm at St John’s Methodist Church.  Could you join us there?

Registering your church with the Fairtrade Foundation would be a key contribution.  It’s not an onerous task:

Register Online: Visit the Fairtrade Foundation (UK) Fairtrade Places of Worship platform to sign up as a new user or log in if you’re an existing contact.  Complete the Application: Fill out the online form, detailing your commitments and activities.  Receive Your Certificate: Once the Fairtrade Foundation reviews your application and is satisfied, they’ll send you an official Fairtrade Church certificate to display. 

Attached is a leaflet we’ve drawn up to explain the task and encourage people to get on board.  Please feel free to pass this on to anyone who could be interested in supporting Fairtrade.

Contacts:

The Rev. Ruth Ridge (ruthkridge@gmail.com / 07447 091182)

Andy Jowitt (jowitts@btinternet.com / 01787 464010)

Notes from our November meeting are here.

Our status as a Fairtrade town has lapsed and needs reviving.  So we are looking to put together a working group to see what we can do to restore our Fairtrade status, hopefully bringing together people from different parts of the community – shops, churches, schools, Town Council, businesses, etc.

Would you be willing to play a part?  We have set a time, date and place for an initial get-together (with Fairtrade refreshments, of course!) It is: Wednesday 12 November2025 at 7.30 pm at St John’s Methodist Church.  We’d love to hear from you if you’re at all interested.

The Rev. Ruth Ridge ruthkridge@gmail.com / 07447 091182

Andy Jowitt (jowitts@btinternet.com / 01787 464010).

This year Fairtrade Fortnight runs from 22 September to 5 October. Thousands of individuals, schools, community groups and companies across the UK will unite under Fairtrade’s “Do It Fair” campaign to celebrate and stand with the people around the world behind the everyday products we love.

Sudbury achieved Fairtrade Town status in 2013. Many local churches became Fairtrade churches at around the same time. Some may need to renew their promises.

As churches, and as individuals, we made a commitment to supporting Fairtrade and using products with the Fairtrade Mark whenever possible.

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.

See https://www.fairtrade.net/uk-en/get-involved/campaign-with-us/current-campaigns/fairtrade-fortnight.html for more information, and see https://www.fairtrade.net/uk-en.html for general information about the Fairtrade Foundation.

On Saturday 20 September, a Fairtrade Tea Party was held at St John’s Methodist Church, Sudbury, with Fairtrade goodies to eat and quizzes to keep us alert.

Sudbury Fairtrade Group

Sadly, this group no longer meets regularly as more members are urgently needed.  However, Churches Together in Sudbury & District has been seeking to keep fair trade on the local agenda, particularly as the town is due to renew its status as a fair trade town.

In January Revd Richard Stainer from Suffolk Fairtrade spoke at a forum meeting and encouraged us to get involved in the renewal of status and to that end members from Churches Together wrote to councillors and addressed the town meeting to encourage support for the renewal.  The town council have since approved the application for renewal in principle, but a team is needed to complete the application and continue to raise the profile of Fair Trade in the town.  We hope to hold a fair trade fair and fashion show, but this can only be done with a committed team of volunteers to help with the planning and organisation.

Please encourage your churches to make sure their Fair Trade status is up to date and please reflect whether fair trade is an issue you would be willing to help promote in the town.  If anyone is interested in joining a fair trade planning group, please contact Ruth Ridge ruthkridge@gmail.com .

Ruth Ridge, on behalf of CTiS&D.

Fairtrade Coffee Morning

In September 2024, during Fairtrade Fortnight, a special Fairtrade Coffee Morning was held at St John’s Methodist Church Hall in Sudbury.

Donations supported the work of the Fairtrade Foundation.

Those who attended were invited to:

• Try out some of our favourite bakes made using Fairtrade ingredients.
• Find out where you can pick up fairtrade goods.
• Discover why Fairtrade is so important for farmers, communities, and the environment.

Copies of Fairtrade-goods-and-where-to-buy-September-2024 were available.

News from the Fairtrade Foundation.

Our next Fairtrade Fortnight will be from Monday 9 September – Sunday 22 September 2024.

2024 will be our big ‘three-oh’ birthday, so we want to use the occasion to highlight how 30 years of working together has made the FAIRTRADE Mark a leader of life-changing impact for farmers and workers across the world.

So, next year we’re going to shake things up a little bit!

The headline news is that our Fairtrade Fortnight 2024 will be moving to September as part of our year-long milestone celebrations. This will give us more time to make the most of the activities and awareness around the campaign.

Throughout 2024, there will be lots of opportunities to get involved with our activities, and we’ll be in touch soon with more details.

We know you’ll want to join us in celebrating the significant impact that the FAIRTRADE Mark has had in the world, and thank you for all your incredible support and contributions.

For more information, see https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get-involved/current-campaigns/fairtrade-fortnight/

The Sudbury Fairtrade group met on 24 Apri 2023.

Read the Minutes of the meeting.

What do you know about Fairtrade? Have you ever bought a fairtrade banana? Or noticed the Fairtrade mark on a bar of chocolate and wondered what it meant?

What is Fairtrade?

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.  Buying Fairtrade products ensures that producers receive a fair price for their goods – and there is also a ‘social premium’ which goes towards providing community facilities such as clean water.   Producers decide on projects democratically.
Paying sustainable prices addresses the injustices of conventional trade which tends to discriminate against the poorest, weakest producers.

The Fairtrade Mark

The FAIRTRADE Mark is a registered certification label for products sourced from producers in lower income countries. It’s used only on products certified in accordance with Fairtrade Standards (and on promotional materials to encourage people to buy Fairtrade products). To find out more visit the wonderful Fairtrade Foundation website at www.fairtrade.org.uk

Fairtrade in action – go bananas!

There are lots of fairtrade products available – in Sudbury shops you can easily find fairtrade coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, bananas, socks, tomatoes, stationery, and all kinds of crafts and gifts. But the one we notice most often in the supermarkets is probably bananas.

Trading bananas is the cornerstone of many lower-income countries’ economies, with an estimated global export value of $7 billion. It is believed that for more than 450 million people in lower-income countries, bananas (and plantains) are essential staple crops.

There are currently 258 Fairtrade certified banana organisations (co-operatives and commercial farms), representing over 36,480 farmers and workers in 16 countries.

Banana farmers and workers across the world are facing increased financial struggles and uncertainty. Fairtrade’s minimum price means that farmers and workers can build their resilience. This year Fairtrade raised the minimum price, while in 2021 we introduced a Base Wage for banana plantation workers.

Between 2000 and 2020, Fairtrade banana sales in the UK generated over £114 million in Fairtrade Premium for farmers and workers. Fairtrade Premium is an additional sum of money which goes into a communal fund for workers and farmers to use to improve their social, economic and environmental conditions for example by paying for schooling or to improve housing.

Sudbury – a Fairtrade town

A Fairtrade town is one that has made a commitment to supporting Fairtrade and using products with the Fairtrade Mark. Any area can work towards Fairtrade status and everyone can be involved. By choosing to support Fairtrade, a town adds its voice to demands for a trade system that puts people, not profit, at the heart of the transaction. We believe that our voices are louder when we speak together.

Sudbury added its voice to this movement ten years ago, and we are now working to renew our status in 2023. Watch out for events and promotions and please support your town!

And, of course, choose Fairtrade wherever you can!

If you are, or have been, a Fairtrader please get in touch as we would like to create a Sudbury area network to pool resources and help each other.

We’ll be at Sudbury Market on March 11th to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight – come and say hello!

If you would like to help with promoting fairtrade in the area, please email the steering group on info@sudburyfairtrade.org.uk

Download this article as a pdf here .

The Sudbury Fairtrade group met on 6 February 2023.

Read the Minutes of the meeting.