NTU is proud to be a Fairtrade University. Over the years, we have worked to inform our staff and students about the benefits of buying fairly traded products, enabling them to make an informed choice about the ethical value of what they buy.

Some of the events we have run include a Fairtrade banana giveaway, a bake-off competition, afternoon tea parties, a t-shirt design competition and talks given by farmers who have directly benefited from working with the Fairtrade Foundation.

So, what is Fairtrade and why should we care?

Fairtrade is a global movement for change that works directly with businesses, consumers and campaigners to make trade deliver for farmers and workers. When you buy a product with the Fairtrade mark, the Fairtrade ingredients have been produced by small-scale farmer organisations that meet Fairtrade social, economic and environmental standards. These standards include protection of workers’ rights, payment of a Fairtrade minimum price and an additional Fairtrade Premium to invest in business or community projects.

By guaranteeing a minimum price for their produce, Fairtrade enables small-scale farmers to work their way out of poverty, send their children to school, and even do things like building community health centres, and securing water supplies.

Buying Fairtrade is really easy, with all supermarkets now selling Fairtrade products, from coffee, tea and bananas to pineapples, wine and cotton wool!

Fairtrade Fortnight 2017

Fairtrade Fortnight takes place from Monday 27 February 2017 and we are planning lots of activities and events to get you thinking about the issues around global trade and, hopefully, to choose Fairtrade products wherever possible.

This year we are hosting a series of Fairtrade afternoon teas, where you can try a selection of Fairtrade teas and coffees for FREE! We also have our NTU Markets on all three campuses over the fortnight, where you will be able to help with our 90 Kg rice challenge. We will be trying to sell 90 Kg of Fairtrade rice to NTU staff and students. Why 90 Kg you ask? This is how much a Malawian farmer needs to sell in order to send their child to school for one whole year.

Our Catering team will also be getting involved by serving Fairtrade rice in NTU cafes throughout the fortnight. But that’s not the only Fairtrade product you can get here at NTU; all tea, coffee, hot chocolate and many snacks available in our outlets have the Fairtrade mark so you can give farmers a break while you have a break from your studies!

-Thank you to Gill Moczarski  who is an Environmental Assistant in the NTU Environment Team, for writing this blog post!

Want to write a blog post that’s featured on this site? Email us your ideas today at GreenAcademy@ntu.ac.uk!