Westminster soon to become Fairtrade Diocese

Barbara Kentish with Bishop John Arnold

Westminster Justice and Peace Commission held a celebration at Holy Apostles Church in Pimlico, Central London, on Saturday 1 March, to mark Fairtrade Fortnight and its efforts to achieve Fairtrade status for the Diocese. Around 250 people from nearly 30 parishes spent the afternoon catching up on Fairtrade news and statistics as well as taking part in a ‘blind’ tea and coffee tasting exercise organised by Holy Apostles Justice and Peace Group. Fairtrade brands came out slightly better and, contrary to expectations, usually cheaper than the non-Fairtrade varieties!

Bishop John Arnold, chairman of CAFOD and auxiliary bishop of Westminster, chaired the gathering and explained why CAFOD supported Fairtrade. "It is two sides of the same coin", he said. "In the 12 countries I have visited with CAFOD I have never met anyone who asked for something for nothing. All people want is a level playing field to support themselves. That is what Fairtrade tries to do by paying producers a fair price."

Alexis Martinez, a banana producer representative, spoke of the enormous improvements in communities in Colombia where Fairtade is involved. Besides economic improvements it has also enabled a much greater degree of participatory decision making amongst cooperatives. He thanked the audience for their choices in buying Fairtrade.

Sophi Tranchell, Managing Director of Divine Chocolate, and herself a Catholic, exhorted the large confirmation groups present to use their access to modern media such as Facebook and Twitter to persuade their schools and parishes to support Fairtrade. "When I volunteered for Fairtrade in the 1980s", she said, "I had to address 200 envelopes by hand to get people to come to a meeting. We should be much more effective now with our social media networks."

Michael Gidney, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, talked about the importance of the Fairtrade premiums in raising the economic and social standards of communities. To see new schools and amenities was to see Fairtrade in action. We in the UK are the biggest supporters of Fairtrade amongst western countries. £1.5 billion worth of Fairtrade goods were sold in the UK in 2012. He encouraged Westminster Justice and Peace to press on with its diocesan quest for Fairtrade status, and promised every support.

"People want trade, not aid" he said.

* Only 17 more Westminster parishes need to sign up before the diocese can apply for its Fairtrade status. Application packs for parishes and schools are available from the Justice and Peace Commission: justice@rcdow.org.uk