Make Bridgend a Fairtrade County and make Wales a world first

Everyone in Bridgend should get behind the bid to Make Bridgend a Fairtrade County and schoolchildren can lead the way.

I am urging local shoppers, schoolchildren, local businesses and Bridgend County Borough Council to back the campaign and support Wales’s bid to become the world’s first Fairtrade country.

Fairtrade guarantees a fair price and safe working conditions for producers of things like tea, coffee, chocolate or fruit in poor countries. It gives us the peace of mind that no child labour was used to make the products we use at home.

Making Bridgend a Fairtrade county means committing ourselves to buying, selling and using Fairtrade products as much as we can, and raising awareness across the local community, in schools, churches, council meetings and any get-together.

I am always impressed by the grasp Bridgend schoolchildren have of global poverty issues and I would like them to have their efforts to promote fair trade recognised by gaining Fairtrade School Status. Our children’s pester power will get us all buying Fairtrade.

Schools in Bridgend can become Fairtrade schools by following the advice on the http://www.fairtradewales.com/ website, all local teachers and pupils should take a look.

This Labour Welsh Assembly Government is committed to encouraging Fairtrade and leads by example - using only Fairtrade tea and coffee for its meetings and is encouraging all businesses and public buildings in Wales to follow suit.

The Bridgend and Porthcawl Fairtrade groups do a great job in encouraging local communities to do more for fairtrade and we can all get behind them during Fairtrade fortnight and make a real effort to make Bridgend a Fairtrade county and make Wales the first Fairtrade country.

For more information, please go to http://www.fairtradewales.com/