Plan of Action for Fairtrade Fortnight
9th March 2007
Alan Whitehead will meet with trade justice activists on Saturday to lay out what the government can do to boost the fair trade industry.
Dr Whitehead will be speaking at a workshop as part of Southampton’s Fairtrade Fortnight: “Think Green, Choose Fair Trade.”
In his speech, Dr Whitehead will highlight three major policy changes that Britain is fighting for internationally, which if achieved would drastically increase the number of workers in the third world earning a decent wage. He will stress the importance of:
- An end to forced economic liberalisation dictated by the IMF and the World Bank, allowing governments in the developing world to set their own pace of economic change.
- Improving the access of developing countries to markets in Europe and America. A boost to Africa’s share of world trade of only 1%, would deliver seven times as much income as the whole continent currently gets in aid.
- Ending farm and export subsidies in Europe and the USA, to allow African farmers to compete while still paying their labourers a decent wage.
Dr Whitehead was one of the leading campaigners for Southampton to become a Fairtrade City in 2003. The City finally achieved the status of a Fairtrade City in 2004, following a Council resolution and increased provision of fair trade goods in local shops, cafes and restaurants.
More information
- Dr Whitehead will be speaking 2.00-2.40pm on the subject: “What can the Government do to support fair trade” at Southampton Solent University Conference Centre, Above Bar. Journalists and photographers are welcome
- Details of the Southampton Fairtrade City Working Group can be accessed here
- Full schedule of events in Southampton during Fairtrade Fortnight
