Fairtrade Award ideas for the two Portsmouth Dioceses




This Briefing page will tell you about the why, what, who, when and how - citing history and a mystery, CAFOD, Christian Aid, The Church Times, Greggs and Lidl a dancing bishop and other big bananas The Suggestions Guide page has the details including the Fairtrade shirt for Pope Francis, an Area Dean feeding by example, Cathedral breakfasts, parish websites and newsletters, BBC and ITV News and those three nuns confronting the Sainsbury's CEO


Hugh Gibbons is creator and conductor of Just1 & Revive '25 First Certified through CAFOD in 2005, the Just1 global HQ - well, the Gibbons household - has been all for Fairtrade coffee and tea, sugar, bananas, chocolate, flowers, wine, and clothing. With its ecumenical activity, it was classified as a Fairtrade Church in February 2025. For a detailed account Hugh's Fairtrade and other social justice activity, click here.	"It’s great to see the energy and ambition behind this. Encouraging 200+ places of worship to re-engage with Fairtrade sounds like a fantastic challenge." That was the response of the Fairtrade Foundation on hearing of Revive '25. Revive '25 is meant as an opportune idea with a history-making 2005 origin. It's a home-grown, independent, conducted-by-me, late-in-life addition to my range of social justice activities. It's not a campaign or hobby horse, with no Shoulds - just Suggestions. Starting in 2025, it may be a useful surprise to many UK churchgoers, clergy, communities - including quite a few bishops and other faith leaders. It's much about people feeling good about themselves, their church, their Church - and the millions of non-churchgoers who buy into the ideals inherent in 6000+ Fairtrade products available. The highly-familiar Fairtrade sign is an instant and powerful statement about values, ethics and collective responsibility. Both Portsmouths were among the first Dioceses to get Fairtrade certification - in January 2006. Both were warmly encouraged by Catholic Bishop Crispian Hollis and CofE Bishop Kenneth Stevenson. I played an active part as a plain parishioner on +Crispian's small but energetic 2005 working party. In both dioceses a majority of parishes quickly signed up - and Anglican Portsmouth renewed in 2012. Opting for Fairtrade remains one of the easiest and year-round actions in support of social and climate justice. But Fairtrade seems to have faded, judging by a browse of all the websites and many newsletters covering the places of worship in both dioceses. This contrasts with the continued strong support, appreciation and purchase of Fairtrade locally and across the UK. So for a working party of just one today, 2025 seems an opportunity to revive and refresh Fairtrade - in readiness for a 20-year celebration in early 2026. My self-volunteered job is to point this out, and encourage, sharing lessons from my own experience, and give examples of activity found on-line. I can do this because I have time, experience, and interest - plus a few spare £ and a keyboard. Revive '25 is just some suggestions - to help any Diocese seeking to reinvigorate Fairtrade, by... stirring awareness, refreshing and encouraging the Fairtrade Places of Worship Award among their various communities such as parishes, deaneries, churches, clusters, areas - and clergy residences! sparing the Dioceses the administrative or financial burden of this initial nudging - but fitting in with their Plans and other social justice & climate activities Given the big population growth in this part and elsewhere in the UK since 2006, the idea of being a Fairtrade Place of Worship should be a new and welcome experience for many people - laity and clergy (who '25 encourages to lead by example). With best wishes for a rejuvenated time ahead Hugh Gibbons Conductor of Just1 hughgibbons@just1.org.uk February 2025	www.just1.org.uk CONTACT the Conductor hughgibbons@just1.org.uk

	How Revive '25 suggestions help the Award fare a little better

The Revive '25 brief is available as an A4 PDF for browsing on-screen, printing or circulating. Click the pic to open	Revive '25 just points out that you might: #1 Seek mass approval to reinforce and sustain your Award #2 Encourage Fairtrade tea, coffee, sugar use in clergy residences - leading by example #3 Consider giving clergy Fairtrade clerical shirts to help widen awareness of other products #4 Show Fairtrade Award and other news constantly on parish websites, newsletters etc #5 Share the story of your Award and activities with MPs, councillors, local and social media Revive '25 should chime nicely with both dioceses, given: Pilgrims of Hope activities in the Jubilee Year - and with the aspiration for missionary parishes in the diocesan plan for Catholic Portsmouth. This says "Our charity, love, and support for people in need in our communities and overseas, through practical help and service, will be an integral part of our identity and recognised by the wider community". Fairtrade Places ticks all those boxes. Rejuvenation as a continuing theme of Anglican Portsmouth's Diocesan Strategy. "So our *REJUVENATING* strategy aims to place children and young people at the heart of our planning, and also seeks to Revive, Revitalise and Renew our network of parishes, chaplaincies and church schools." (Pupils learn Fairtrade in schools, so having Fairtrade fairly presented in their churches seems a good idea.) The two dioceses total around 250 places of worship. Anglican Portsmouth covers the City, East Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Catholic Portsmouth includes all of Hampshire, Berkshire and South Oxfordshire, and the Channel Islands. Both dioceses are organised as clusters: 24 Catholic pastoral areas or parishes; 17 Anglican deaneries. I'll contact these and others to encourage consideration of the Award. NB If you do decide to apply for an Award as Place of Worship in one of the Portsmouth Dioceses, make sure you tell - well, delight - your Bishop Philip Egan or Bishop Jonathan Frost. If you want to let me know as well, or feed me news, that's fine. I may in time be able to post a simple litany of the rejuvenated and a commentary on these webpages.

	How Portsmouths made history - and a mystery

Sue James of the Portsmouth Fairtrade Forum celebrating 30 Years of Fairtrade in September 2024 "Becoming a Fairtrade diocese is far more than a contribution to ensure fair prices for goods produced in some of the poorest parts of the world. What’s important for our diocese, where 55% of the parishes now use Fairtrade goods, is the greater awareness we have acquired of the scourge of the exploitation of workers in the Third World and how we can help them in their struggles". Bishop Crispian Hollis in 2006 Greggs show how much they value supporting Fairtrade by putting a reminder on every one of the millions of cups served year-round in 2600+ outlets. List of dozens of Fairtrade faith groups provided by the Foundation in 2012. Click here or the pic to see if yours was on it. The last known UK Catholic Diocese to achieve Fairtrade status is the Archdiocese of Westminster, in 2021. They have a detailed Fairtrade page here as part of their Justice & Peace Commission activities.	The two Dioceses' home town of Portsmouth led the way, becoming a Fairtrade City in 2004. In 2024 they celebrated 20 years of showing support for social justice, getting a Civic Award from the Lord Mayor in May 2024 - as you can see at their Portsmouth Fairtrade Forum. This reflects the diversity of related groups across the area - retail, business and educational places. These include Greggs, who themselves started buying Fairtrade coffee beans in 2006, and whose range of products in their 2600+ UK outlets today offer hardly anything else - an exemplar of sustainability and corporate responsibility. Lidl UK are another, not only having over 100 Fairtrade lines in their 1000+ shops but dressing all their staff in Fairtrade cotton, the first retailer to do so. Their commitment and that of thousands of others underlines the continued appeal and growth of Fairtrade, despite pressures on business and family budgets. The Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Portsmouth - whose cathedrals are in this Fairtrade City - got their own Fairtrade certification in January 2006, among the very first to do so. Anglican Portsmouth renewed their status in 2012. In early 2024, newsletters of both dioceses applauded Portsmouth's 20 years as a Fairtrade City, and in September 30 years of the Fairtrade Foundation. Yet it seems visible Fairtrade support in parishes seems to have faded in both Dioceses. At the end of 2024 it was hard to find any sign of Fairtrade on the websites or newsletters of their combined 200+ parishes. The logo is rarely seen, even though it's one of the most instantly recognised and respected brand identities. It has to be said the same goes across the UK, with little indication of Fairtrade commitment found in looking through 1600+ parish and diocesan websites. Including, cathedral and diocesan websites. Portsmouth Anglican Diocese do have a Fairtrade webpage, listing 87 Fairtrade Churches (possibly from the renewal in 2012). But this seems well out of date. Combing through the 177 churches on their 2024 Deaneries page in January 2024 shows many new parish configurations - and virtually no mention of Fairtrade, even where churches have regular coffee mornings... It's a bit of a mystery. After all, Fairtrade UK is rooted in both Churches' social and climate justice teachings. The UK's Fairtrade Foundation was established in 1992 by Christian Aid, CAFOD, Oxfam, The World Development Movement and the National Federation of Women's Institutes. Moreover, as the Foundation says, "Churches, mosques, synagogues, and other places of worship across the UK have been at the heart of the success of Fairtrade – putting faith into action by using and promoting Fairtrade products and leading public conversation about justice for the farmers and workers we rely on." So there's a case for putting faith into action by encouraging the Places of Worship Award - hence the creation of Revive '25 to revive awarness and encourage going for the Award. There'd be some other spin-off benefits of getting quite a few new Places of Worship Awards. It would be a really good news story to share on local, regional and national media It would encourage other dioceses to emulate Portsmouths' lead It would be a lasting example of outreach for parishioners and clergy to feel proud of It would be something practical and enjoyable for all ages to join in	"Back in Portsmouth, the party starts in Guildhall Square with music and dancing. Fairtrade Forum campaigner Margaret Quinn grabbed the Bishop Kenneth Stevenson for a quick dance as others sampled Fairtrade tea, coffee and bananas." Portsmouth Fairtrade City celebrated in CofE Portsmouth News in 2005 - which has lots of pics and background story of a banana boat St John's Catholic Cathedral Newsletter in 2011. St Edmund's School is still for Fairtrade - proceeds from the staff room catering go to an overseas charity “People on the Isle of Wight are saying there is something they can do about it. It doesn’t involve marching or campaigning. It’s something you can do simply by changing the brands you buy. When you buy Fairtrade tea, you are making it possible for a child in Sri Lanka to have a piece of bread. When you buy Fairtrade bananas, a Caribbean child can have school books. When you buy Fairtrade chocolate, a child in Ghana can get medical attention. You are making a difference to people’s lives.” MP Andrew Turner when IoW became a Fairtrade Island in October 2005


	Interested in a more detailed guide on the suggestions? NB This A4 briefing document is available as PDF for an easy browse on-screen, circulating or printing.