Honiton Co-op leads the way as town establishes Fairtrade status

No community is so small it cannot make a difference. And that is the case in Honiton where its town council and local Co-op store are working to make a positive difference to communities around the world.

How can a small East Devon town of around 12,000 people impact on the world? By being fair is the simple answer.

In February of this year, Honiton Town Council resolved to adopt Fairtrade Town status.

As part of this, Honiton celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight with displays, information and activities in the Co-op and the town library.

A wide range of Fairtrade products are sold in the Honiton Co-op store; including bananas, wine, chocolate, sugar, coffee, tea and even cotton wool.

An alliance with global fair trading is ingrained in the Co-operative core values, with the business saying: "Co-op is a pioneer of Fairtrade and has supported before the Mark existed with its support dating all the way back to our founding values and principles in 1844.

"The business was born from the need for elimination of worker and customer exploitation and launched a worldwide movement.

"We are proud of our long-term impact across thousands of farmers and workers in our Fairtrade supply chain."

And that pride is shared by Honiton Town Council. Cllr Caroline Kolek said: "Fairtrade Town status is another feather in the town's cap - promoting the values of equality, respectful partnerships, sustainable practice and consumer knowledge.

"It shows that we care about decent working conditions, we care about sustainability and care about fair wages and prices for the crops and goods that we buy from developing countries.

"I'm really excited about the Fairtrade project and delighted with the number of people that have shown an interest.

"People are becoming more and more interested in where their food and products come from, the impact on the environment and the fair treatment of growers and producers and we are pleased to be a part of supporting that."