Steering group members Fiona Rankine-Wright (left) and Dawn Alba gratefully accept a donation for website development (photo: Lord Brett McLean).

Traidcraft fillip for Hastings Fairtrade

The steering group set up to plot Hastings’ route to Fairtrade status received a fillip when it held its first meeting, with news that Traidcraft, the ethical and fairtrade supplier, will be holding a roadshow here in late January. HOT’s Nick Terdre reports.

“This is big”, Rosemary Goring, a member of the steering committee, told HOT. “Traidcraft holds these roadshows all over the country, but this is the first time it’s been done in this part of the world.” Traidcraft, which has played a pioneering role in developing fair ways of trading, was one of the moving forces behind the establishment of the Fairtrade Foundation in 1992.

Its representatives will be at His Place Community Church (the former United Reformed Church) in Robertson Street on Thursday 30 January, giving presentations of the organisation’s work in the morning and afternoon and no doubt selling goods from their Fairtrade lines.

Another chance to raise Fairtrade consciousness in the town will come with Fairtrade Fortnight, which begins on 24 February and will feature a campaign to persuade supermarkets and greengrocers to increase their commitment to selling fairly traded bananas.

At its first meeting on 11 December at the Azur restaurant – Azur consultant Lord Brett McLean is one of the members – the steering group took steps to increase the Fairtrade presence in the town. By mutual agreement, the committee will take over the Hastings Fairtrade website set up by Stacey Lane.

With the aid of a £50 donation from Bexhill Fairtrade Committee, they  have appointed a web designer to prepare the site for a speedy relaunch. Group member Dawn Alba has been put in charge of the website development. The group will meet again on 15 January.

Steering Hastings to Fairtrade status

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