Programme Action: Fair Trade

Photo: Club member Mrs Pauline Frost-Hardwick manning a stall in Fair Trade Week.

When Burnley’s ex MP Kitty Ussher announced an initiative to enable Burnley to become a fair-trade town the Burnley Soroptimists joined other interested parties for an explorative meeting.  

The MP said it was clear from her mailbag (and a significant amount of it was from SI Burnley members) that it was something that her constituents wanted and was “the right thing to do to give a guaranteed income to subsistence farmers throughout the world.”

Eventually, the targets were reached and Burnley became a Fair Trade town. 

Much progress has been made since those early days and now many of Burnley’s large employers, shops, cafes and restaurants are offering fair-trade produce to their staff and customers. .. but the work does not stop there.  Funds are needed to promote the Fair Trade concept and premises have to be re-visited and checked to ensure they still fulfil the criteria.  

Burnley Soroptimists continue to support the local campaign and the Fair Trade initiatives.