Today is World Fair Trade Day. Our local Dundee Fair Trade Forum marked the day with a stall in the City Centre. I recently asked the City Council for an update on its support for Fair Trade and received the following response:
"The Chief Executive asked me to respond direct to your enquiry about the Council's commitment to Fair Trade. This is demonstrated in the following ways:
- the Fair Trade logo now appears on the front page of the Council's website, and takes visitors to information about the Council's approach to Fair Trade and to a link to the Fair Trade Foundation's website
- a number of Councillors from various parties are actively involved in promoting Fair Trade. In addition to your own involvement, Councillor McCready now chairs the Fair Trade Forum (in a personal capacity) and Councillor Bowes represents the Administration Group. Around 25% of members attended a briefing held during Fair Trade Fortnight last year
- the Council's catering franchise agreement now states that 'The Council is committed to the promotion of Fair Trade products and this should be reflected in any proposals submitted'. As a result, the Caird Hall and McManus Galleries cafe now serve Fair Trade products. The Central Library has a Fair Trade vending machine
- the Council's Corporate Procurement Strategy states that 'to advance ethical procurement it will work in partnership with the Dundee Fair Trade organisation to achieve their aims'
- the Leisure and Communities Department was one of the partners involved in organising a Strictly Fair Trade Tea Dance in 2010, while the Education Department has continued to encourage schools to take part in Fair Trade projects. At the last count, 8 schools were working towards Fair Trade School status and primary teachers have taken part in several CPD sessions on Fair Trade
One area in which the Fair Trade Forum continues to seek a change in Council policy is in terms of a commitment to use Fair Trade products whenever possible (e.g. at meetings and when offering hospitality) As you know, the Council makes Fair Trade products available, but does not use these exclusively."
A member of the Dundee Fair Trade Forum has made some suggestions to me about further ways the council can assist and I raised these with Dundee City Council. Already, there has been a positive response to some - for example, adding a link to the Dundee Fair Trade Forum's website to the Fair Trade page on the Council's website.