<strong>Fairtrade</strong> Pioneers Did you know the <strong>Fairtrade</strong> movement began in <strong>Newcastle</strong>? In 1974 the first shipment of jute handicrafts was brought back from Bangladesh by <strong>Fairtrade</strong> pioneer Richard Adams. He began to sell and distribute from his basement of the appropriately named India House on Carliol Square, <strong>Newcastle</strong> upon Tyne. From small shoots big trees grow! If you are <strong>Fairtrade</strong> savvy you will know that this small business soon grew into Tearcraft and later developed into the hugely successful Traidcraft, with sales of over £100m to date and over £12 million per year. Traidcraft, despite its success, has stayed within the region and since 1985 they have been based in the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead. Traidcraft goods are sold in <strong>Newcastle</strong> through the One World Shop in St Thomas the Martyr Church, Haymarket. Perhaps as a result of Traidcraft’s success, <strong>Newcastle</strong> has become a hub of fair trade activity, as various independent fair trade businesses have sprung up on Tyneside. Among these is ethical investor Shared Interest Society that in 2010 celebrated its twentieth anniversary. Based here in <strong>Newcastle</strong> but with offices in Costa Rica, Kenya and Peru, Shared Interest pools money from its investors to lend to fair trade businesses in the developing world. <strong>Fairtrade</strong> <strong>City</strong> Status Elsewhere in the country many businesses, schools and organisations began to give their support. The <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Foundation instigated the <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Towns initiative which gave local communities the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment in a high profile way. In 2000, Garstang, Lancashire, was granted the title of first official <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Town. John and Audrey Marshall had been active <strong>Fairtrade</strong> supporters for over 30 years, and when John became Lord Mayor of <strong>Newcastle</strong> in 2002 <strong>Fairtrade</strong> was always going to be high on his agenda. Seeing great potential in the <strong>City</strong>, in April 2002, John launched a campaign to make <strong>Newcastle</strong> a <strong>Fairtrade</strong> <strong>City</strong>. To test public opinion, a petition was launched to the public to pledge support for <strong>Fairtrade</strong>. The support was overwhelming with people actually queuing up to sign it! In a bid to win the title, a formal <strong>Fairtrade</strong> steering group was set up. Local councillors, campaigners and business representatives formed a group and those present committed themselves to the target of achieving "<strong>Fairtrade</strong> <strong>City</strong>" status in time for <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Fortnight 2003. Uniquely, the first meeting was held in the Lord Mayor’s Chambers. To qualify as a <strong>Fairtrade</strong> <strong>City</strong>, <strong>Newcastle</strong> needed to have a percentage of <strong>Fairtrade</strong> retail outlets within the <strong>City</strong>’s boundaries. The steering group had huge support from local businesses which meant that before the end of 2002, the campaign was well ahead of target with more than enough retail outlets to qualify for <strong>Fairtrade</strong> status. In February 2003 <strong>Newcastle</strong> was announced as the world’s first <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Metropolitan Borough. A celebratory dinner was held which was enjoyed by all the <strong>Fairtrade</strong> supporters including two visiting Ghanaian cocoa farmers. <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Steering Group Since February 2003, the <strong>City</strong> <strong>Council</strong> has made a commitment by allocating funding for dedicated officer time, and to fund events, publicity, promotional materials etc. The steering group, now the <strong>Newcastle</strong> <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Partnership, has received longstanding support from amongst others, Traidcraft, the North East Co-operative and Shared Interest Society. The Partnership meets monthly and has strong links with both <strong>Newcastle</strong> and Northumbria Universities (who are proud to have <strong>Fairtrade</strong> status themselves) as well as community representation and councillor support. The partnership has been hugely successful in raising the profile of <strong>Fairtrade</strong> in the region, nationally and even internationally. You may have attended one of the Partnership supported events, perhaps during the annual <strong>Fairtrade</strong> Fortnight.