Brechin to become beacon of Fairtrade?
BRECHIN is not far away from being able to become a beacon of Fairtrade, according to one of the people already heavily involved in promoting better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers both locally and in the developing world.
Father David Mumford of St Andrew's Episcopal Church has said that he thinks the targets required for Brechin to meet Fairtrade status are "achievable".
Five goals must be met in order to become a Fairtrade Town. The goals, which groups can work towards in any order, are known as the 'five c's' and are as follows:- council; commerce (retail and catering); community; common consensus (public support gained through media coverage and events); and captains (steering group).
Broken down, it means that Angus Council would have to pass a resolution supporting Fairtrade, and agree to serve Fairtrade products in, for example, meetings, offices and canteens, something which was done in May 2007 as part of Montrose's successful bid to become a Fairtrade Town.
A range of Fairtrade products would also have to be readily available in the area's retail outlets and served in local catering outlets.
This is already partially in place with the Rainbow Fairtrade charity shop located on the High Street and with local stores such as Scotmid Co-operative stocking Fairtrade products.
Local work-places and community organisations such as places of worship, schools, universities, colleges and other community organisations have to support Fairtrade and use Fairtrade products whenever possible.
Once again, Brechin Churches Together is an active supporter of Fairtrade and, among others, St. Andrew's Church is a registered Fairtrade Church.
Media coverage and events raise awareness and understanding of Fairtrade across the community. Brechin has, in the Brechin Advertiser, a local newspaper which is sympathetic and a vibrant range of voluntary and religious organisations who would respond to this challenge.
A local Fairtrade steering group would need to be convened to ensure the Fairtrade Town campaign continues to develop and gain new support.
Other towns have started by holding a public meeting and by appealing to supporters to form a Fairtrade steering group.
Speaking after having considered the 'five c's', Father Mumford said: "These seem to be achievable targets for Brechin and we are very much in favour of the principle of Fair Trade and encouraging producers both locally and internationally to get paid a fair price for a good supply.
"We want to make sure that people are prepared to pay a wee bit over the odds for something which gives a fair deal to the workers who have produced it, be they in Angus or in third world countries.
"The more I think about it, the more I think that this is something we really could achieve here.
"If producers have little power, a free market will exploit them. Fairtrade aims to ensure that producers receive a fair price for their products, whether the producers are based in Scotland or abroad."
The idea was initially floated at the June meeting of the Brechin and Area Partnership, who were also supportive of investigating further the possibility of Brechin achieving Fairtrade status.
Father Mumford said there that he would be prepared to take it forward as it was "certainly something worth doing" and he will find out more information at the at the Angus wide Local Area Partnership meeting, which takes place in Forfar this coming Monday night.
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Weather for Brechin
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
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Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
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Wind direction: West
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Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
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