Fairtrade Fortnight runs from Monday 9 to Sunday 22 September and will promote a simple message: Be the Change.
This campaign highlights that many non-Fairtrade farmers continue to earn below the poverty line, while Fairtrade means producers receive a fairer price, can afford to feed their families, send their children to school, and cover their farming costs. It creates healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities, with improved choice and better life chances through access to healthcare and education, and helps farmers respond to climate crises by investing in better farming practices.
Shoppers in the UK continue to support Fairtrade, with 2023 retail sales of Fairtrade products generating around £28 million in Fairtrade Premium payments for producers to invest in business, community and projects of their choice, including healthcare, education and environmental initiatives.
If you want to hear directly from one of the farmers and how Fairtrade has benefited him and his community, come and hear Howard Msukwa, rice farmer from northern Malawi, speak at the Cornerstone Centre on Thursday 12 September at 12:30pm. Tickets (free) are available here.
In other events happening across the city, in Balerno the Balerno Fairtrade Village Group will have a Fairtrade stall at the Farmers’ Market on 14 September, while The Mill Café will focus even more on Fairtrade ingredients, plus a “mystery item” in the Main Street is intended to remind shoppers to stick with Fairtrade way beyond Fairtrade Fortnight.
In South Queensferry, the South Queensferry Fairtrade Group is having an afternoon tea (price: £10) to celebrate the 30th birthday of the Fairtrade Foundation. It is on Saturday 21 September from 2:00pm – 4:00pm in Queensferry Parish Church.
All Edinburgh libraries will be mounting displays concerning Fairtrade throughout Fairtrade Fortnight, and you can take these resources at the end of the period, or find more for your school here or faithgroup or community here.
If you want more information on Fairtrade year-round you can follow or contact the Edinburgh Fairtrade City Steering Group here
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
