Fair Trade Fortnight 2021

Fair Trade Fortnight takes place from Monday 22 February until Sunday 7 March. University cafes are Fair Trade, and Oxford University was awarded the nationwide Fair Trade University and College Award in June 2020. More departments and colleges are being invited to get involved in the scheme, as well as exploring the use of a broader range of Fair Trade products. A commitment to Fair Trade is part of Oxford University’s Sustainable Food policy which you can view on the sustainability website.

The climate crisis is an immediate and ever-increasing threat and those in climate vulnerable countries are already seeing its impacts from droughts and crop disease to floods, heatwaves and shrinking harvests. With the emergence of the global COVID pandemic, the challenges that farmers face now are bigger than ever before with falling commodity prices and widespread shocks reverberating along our global supply chains. Ongoing poverty in farming communities makes it increasingly hard to cope with the effects of climate change.

Fair Trade is about social, economic and environmental justice. These are built into the Fair Trade standards.  A root cause of the inability to adapt to and mitigate climate change is poverty. More money in the hands of farmers is needed if they are to adapt and survive the climate crisis. Choosing Fair Trade fights for improvements in producers’ livelihoods with collective strength through co-ops and their bargaining power, the protection of a Minimum Price and Fair Trade Premiums.

The Fair Trade Foundation is hosting an online festival to celebrate, visit the website to find out more. You can also visit the University's Sustainability page see more upcoming events.