Fairtrade
For almost fifteen years, there was a Traidcraft Fairtrade Stall in Devana Parish Church (Fonthill Road) selling a variety of products including tea, coffee, chocolate, sweets, biscuits and store cupboard staples as well as cards, crafts and gifts. The stall was very well supported by the congregation and the money raised was used by Traidcraft to help farmers and producers in developing countries to work their way out of poverty and to build sustainable lives for their families and communities.
Unfortunately, Traidcraft, the company from whom we bought our Fairtrade products, had to cease trading in January 2023. The pandemic followed by the war in Ukraine, the rise in the cost of living, rising energy prices and increased transport costs meant that, despite their efforts, they were unable continue to operate.
Although there are a number of other companies selling Fairtrade and ethical products, at the moment there is currently not one which can offer us the same kind of trade account we had with Traidcraft or the variety of products. However, there are a lot of people working hard to try to fill the gap left by Traidcraft and our Fairtrade Co-ordinator is keeping abreast of developments. We do hope that in time we may be able to reopen the stall.
In the meantime, we still commit to being a Fairtrade Church. Fairtrade tea and coffee is used in the Coffee Shop and at meetings and we regularly promote the concept of Fairtrade in our services.
We hope that our customers will continue to buy Fairtrade goods which are now widely available in shops and supermarkets and online. You can buy directly from the following companies:
