Fairtrade
The Church of England encourages its dioceses and parishes to adopt fairtrade principles and to demonstrate a commitment to trade justice. Manchester Diocese is a fairtrade diocese. Over two-thirds of our parishes have made a commitment to serving only fairtrade tea and coffee and to finding out about and promoting trade justice. Some of our schools have become or are working towards becoming fairtrade schools. But we need more of you to join and existing parishes to renew their commitment.
What is Fairtrade?
Fairtrade is not charity; it is about trading in a fair way with communities who have little strength, and giving producers a better deal in return for their hard labour.
Fairtrade is about working in a fair way with overseas communities who are at risk of exploitation. It means making sure these workers get a fair wage for their work so that they can improve their lives, live more safely and healthily and be able to educate and train themselves and their children.
Why does the diocese want every parish to be involved?
Since the early days of the Old Testament, God has declared his passion for the weak and the need for justice and honesty.
“Administer justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the poor” (Zechariah 7:9).
For millions of the world’s poorest people, trade rules are increasingly determining whether they eat or go hungry. How can trade justice be understood in the light of our central act of worship, the Eucharist, where we gather round the table to share the bread and wine? We are the body of Christ, we receive his body and we are sent to be his body in the world. Coming together in the Eucharist celebrates our oneness and rejects the individualism of our contemporary culture.
As Christian believers we must make a choice in these matters. We want to encourage your parish to consider the issues and make an informed choice about what you can do.
Fairtrade means that we can move with the heart of God bringing justice to those who would otherwise be swamped by the competitive and ruthless market forces
around them.
You can choose to make small changes to your lifestyles that will make a real difference to those currently struggling to sell the goods they work so hard to produce.
To learn more about fairtrade visit www.fairtrade.org.uk
Manchester is a Fairtrade City. Click here for information from the City Council on fairtrade shops, cafes, and how to become a fairtrade school, college or office.
