500th Fair Trade Town Milestone Reached

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500th Fair Trade Town Milestone Reached

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uploaded by EthicalCommunity.com

To celebrate the 500 Fairtrade Town milestone, Fairtrade supporters took to their saddles for a 500 mile cycle relay from Aberfeldy to Cardiff. The first cyclists left Aberfeldy on Saturday 23 October and the journey finished in Cardiff on Monday 1 November.  A ceremonial parchment was signed and passed on by the cyclists at celebratory events held in prominent Fairtrade Towns along the way.

Bicester in Oxfordshire was announced as the 500th Fairtrade Town in a live link up with Cardiff, the first Fairtrade Capital City. Schools, cyclists, campaigners and supporters gathered in the Millennium Centre in Cardiff to congratulate the Bicester Fairtrade Steering group, joined by their Mayor and Bruce Crowther. 

Proclaimers Craig and Charlie have kindly allowed new lyrics to be written to their hit and the Fairtrade version, I'm Gonna Be (500 Towns) was used by supporters at celebratory events along the bike ride

Fairtrade Towns are about changing the way trade is done and this milestone event provides an opportunity to do just that. Fairtrade Town campaigners invited MPs to sign EDM - 848 -500th Fairtrade Town - calling on the Government to reaffirm their commitment to supporting the continued growth of fair and ethical trade in the UK and 62 MP's from across the UK have already signed!

Bruce Crowther, founder of Fairtrade Towns and Fairtrade Towns Advisor says: ‘The 500th Fairtrade Town is a tremendous achievement that should be enjoyed and celebrated, especially by the grassroots campaigners that made it happen. But our campaign is a long journey, fuelled by better understanding and learning. We must therefore always stay focused on the wider picture of trade justice and global poverty, in the knowledge that the final destination will one day be reached.’

The Fairtrade Towns movement has been rapidly growing since Garstang declared itself the world’s first Fairtrade Town at a public meeting in April 2000. Since then thousands of people, passionate about change, have energised their communities to take action. There are presently over 850 Fairtrade Towns in 19 countries worldwide including the cities of London, Paris, Rome, Brussels, Copenhagen and San Francisco. The fourth International Fairtrade Towns Conference will take place in Bonn later this year and the 1,000th Fairtrade Town is expected to declare in the first half of 2011.

Harriet Lamb CBE, Executive Director for the Fairtrade Foundation says: ‘Congratulations to everyone in all 500 Towns who have helped put Fairtrade on the map – and on our shop shelves. They are helping tip the balance in favour of smallholders and workers in developing countries, and the achievements of Fairtrade Towns in Britain are a dynamic inspiration to producers, and supporters, right across the world. This latest cycle ride is a great way to highlight the achievements towns have already made. As they pedal against poverty, they are showing that Fairtrade is the way to go. And they will be munching on Fairtrade bananas, fresh fruit, energy bars and chocolates for extra power!’

‘I've been a huge fan of Fairtrade Towns since I launched the Garstang Initiative in 2001. It's great to see that the movement's becoming so internationally huge. Congratulations to the cyclists, and to everyone involved in promoting Fairtrade!’ - Tony Robinson.