Fair Trade town

CONGRATULATIONS to the district council for adopting a Fair Trade policy for provision of refreshments at council meetings. With the council already setting a good example in areas such as recycling, it is to councillors credit that they have adopted a m

CONGRATULATIONS to the district council for adopting a Fair Trade policy for provision of refreshments at council meetings.

With the council already setting a good example in areas such as recycling, it is to councillors' credit that they have adopted a measure that affects the sustainability and welfare of other communities internationally.

I am part of a group that has been recently formed to seek 'Fair Trade Town' status for Huntingdon.

As well as helping farmers and other producers get a fair price for their goods, Fair Trade Town status has local spin-offs in terms of enhanced retail profiles and tourist potential.

Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch: several local supermarkets sell a range of Fair Trade produce, coffee shops such as Kendals sell Fair Trade products, businesses such as Luminus use Fair Trade refreshments for their meetings, and a number of local churches are introducing Fair Trade policies.

With the addition of a range of retailers, restaurants, small businesses, schools and, crucially, the town council, we hope that it will be possible to secure Fair Trade Town status during 2008.

The district council has set a great example that hopefully others will follow shortly.

For further details please see: www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved_fairtrade_towns.htm

GRAHAM HALDANE, Huntingdonshire Community Church, High Street, Huntingdon