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A guide to the five Just1 suggestions |
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The starting point
is the Fairtrade Foundation website page
The Revive '25 suggestions on the Award are simple
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Suggestion
#1
Seek mass approval
for the Award promises
And have fun doing so - with or without big banana. |
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 Example of mass approval seen on the website of St Alban's in Macclesfield in January 2025  |
Think of it as not just a Place but a People of Worship Award. Any new or recommitment application benefits from having widespread approval. Get approval from their parishioners first. It's common sense, courteous, and - for Catholics - an example of applied Synodality. So the idea of getting Award might be steered by, for example, Parish Pastoral Committee or Justice & Peace team. But a key element is that it should have the warm and open support and encouragement of the great majority of parishioners.
Getting mass approval can be great fun for everyone together. An easy way to achieve mass approval is with a show of hands when most parishioners are all gathered in one place - in church. This not only ensures widespread OK, but is fun, different, engaging. And you get a number from it. "Over 300 parishioners have voted for Fairtrade" is a good news story all round.  Speaking up
about Fairtrade
Places
approval is a
fun task - and
cheery ask of a
congregation.
Remind
everyone they
can buy over
6000 products
with the
Fairtrade mark
in all sorts and
sizes of retail
outlets selling
coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, cold
drinks and
juice,
honey, cotton, wine,
clothing, chocolate, flowers, beauty
and wellness
products spices,
gold,
bananas
– and shirts for
clergy
S ay that you're thinking of applying for the Fairtrade Places of Worship Award. It needs their approval first. So ask them:
Thank everyone, and tell them to watch out for news. And expect applause, btw. |
 Video of a massed approval! (click to play) of all pupils at tiny St Joseph's Primary in Hurst Green singing this message to their local MP - something for a congregation to emulate. The tune is the chimes of Big Ben. The conductor was Hugh Gibbons, btw.  Hugh Gibbons' follow-up Thought for the Week in Bracknell News |
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Suggestion
#2
Use Fairtrade tea, coffee & sugar and more - and maybe not just at parish events. Encourage clergy residences leading by example. |
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 Clackmannan Parish is a Church of Scotland Place of Worship that runs a regular Fairtrade staff
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Clergy of all sorts (including bishops) can play an every day part - in presbytery or family home - in leading by example with Fairtrade as a routine purchase for themselves (and visitors such as bishops...) Above is one Area Dean making the case for her household deciding they would buy Fairtrade bananas, tea, coffee and sugar - and wine for communion. Parish events may be routine, such as coffee and tea for everyone after Sunday services. Or they may be infrequent - such as committee or group meetings. NB1 It's always a great reminder to everyone to include "Fairtrade tea and coffee is being served" in your announcements. NB1 You can buy bulk packs on-line. NB2 The cost difference is a little more - but you get the big benefit of everyone feeling better about their parish and Church. And if parishioners like to donate tea, coffee or sugar? Suggest gently that they make it Fairtrade. |
 The people of Jo's little town of Ilminster are really up for Fairtrade throughout the year.  And here's an annual idea led by the Cathedral Dean. Bradford Cathedral is Fairtrade’s Campaigner of the Month - Bradford Cathedral |
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Suggestion
#3 Encourage Fairtrade beyond refreshments in your place of worship and beyond. Consider getting Fairly shirty with the clergy. |
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 Surplices too: NB Heads available please ask    School and parish footie teams might like to have one of these |
A Fairtrade cotton shirt for Pope Francis plus a pack of Kenyan coffee and a bottle of wine were among the gifts a Fairtrade International delegation brought to the Vatican in late 2020 . Representatives from Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, Kenya and Mexico also presented Fairtrade’s five-year global strategy to demonstrate to him what Fairtrade can do to achieve social and environmental justice for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. The gift box included messages of support and gratitude from farmers from around the world, extending an invitation to the Pope Holiness to become a prominent voice in support of issues that affect their livelihoods.
Any time you're thinking of a gift for a member of the clergy - male or female - how about a Fairtrade cotton clerical shirt? And presenting it during a service - during Fairtrade Fortnight maybe - so everyone can see a practical side of being a Fairtrade parish, and a good talking point all round. There's a range of UK suppliers such as www.fairtradeclergyshirts.co.uk that you can find on Google and other search engines. The shirts come in a variety of styles and sizes - from XS to XXL.
There are other Fairtrade products for churches, of course. Pilgrim Shop have Fairtrade holding crosses made in Bethlehem. "These crosses make wonderful gifts and prayer aids. This cross will fit easily into a pocket or purse. Our Olive Wood gifts are made by a small family business based in Bethlehem. They use skilled craftsmen to carve and shape the natural Olive tree wood into many beautiful products including Nativity sets, Praying Hands and many other devotional items."
Pilgrim Shop also have a range of church altar linens made with 100% Fairtrade cotton. That's a baptismal towel with the Holy Spirit design.
Fairtrade Communion wine is very popular for parishes across a range of different denominations. A leading supplier is Poterion, but Google has others for you to choose.
Christian Concern for One World have a very practical guide. The PDF is at USING Fair trade in your church 2023
And their website is full of ideas - eg this in their Fairtrade Fortnight PDF  |
This Just1 suggestion came from hearing of a Lidl GB Fairtrade action. Lidl GB have long been big Fairtrade supporters, and today sell over 100 certified products throughout the year - from bananas from Colombia, tea picked in Kenya, to cocoa grown in Cote d'Ivoire. And in 2022 Lidl GB announced it would be the first UK retailer to convert all its cotton staff uniforms to Fairtrade, which it described as the independent, third-party certification that partners with farmers and workers to negotiate better prices, decent working conditions, and a fairer deal overall. It said, "The uniform range is being rolled out across all stores, with a commitment to purchase 330,000 shirts, trousers, polo tops and chinos, and will be worn by the retailer’s 22,000 store colleagues. This equates to a volume of 175 metric tonnes of Fairtrade certified cotton, benefitting farmers in India."  |
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Suggestion
#4 Be proud of showing you're for Fairtrade - on parish websites, newsletters, railings, Google And aspire to spires... |
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 In September 2024 newsletter of Our Lady of Lourdes, West London  This is in the newsletter of the Catholic Parish of Worthing and Lancing in September 2024 
Leighlin & Kildare parish in Ireland use their website as a constant reminder  On Guernsey website  On ITV website |
The newsletter on the left has it right - Fairtrade gets a regular reminder. Even easier is with coffee on a Sunday - get someone to tell everyone in the congregation that Fairtrade coffee and tea are being served.
Occasional notices can help if you're not yet a Fairtrade Place of Worship
Show your Fairtrade status so search engines can pick it up.
Make sure Fairtrade commitment is prominent on your website
Share your news
Go very public-facing for Fairtrade - outside your church Hugh Gibbons says: I made this large acrylic-on-wood sign to go on the railings outside St Joseph's church in Bracknell - passed by tens of thousands of people every day. It was the first of around three dozen paintings for the Community Gallery of Greeters made by parishioners, schools and first-time artists displayed outside 2015-16. If you're wondering who the figure in red is, Cardinal Vincent Nichols sent best wishes. It helped with one of my Thoughts for the Week in the local newspaper covering Bracknell, Wokingham, Ascot, Sandhurst and Crowthorne.
 And then 2600+ places have Fairtrade on almost everything except the sausage rolls!  |
  A SPIRE NOT TO HAVE MORE BUT TO BE MORE In 2011 this cockerel was coated in Fair-traded gold before being hoisted to the top of the 277ft spire of Chichester Cathedral. You can read about it at A Golden Standard: How Chichester Cathedral is advocating for a fairer future | Chichester Cathedral and at Chichester Cathedral has lots to crow about! Fairtrade and Fairmined… | The History Guide "Nestled in the heart of Chichester, the Cathedral stands not only as a symbol of faith but also as a beacon of ethical responsibility. The Cathedral proudly embraces the global Fairtrade movement, championing ethical sourcing practices and fair treatment for workers." Chichester is a Fairtrade City with a vibrant range of activities, seen atFairtrade Chichester – Transition Chichester  Another cathedral showed the way in and made news in 2024 Bradford Cathedral is Fairtrade’s Campaigner of the Month - Bradford Cathedral  Winchester doesn't have a spire on the Cathedral, but citizens fly the flag. |
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Suggestion
#5 Spread the word of your Award - and why others might join in Fairtrade too. Your stories are good news all round. |
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 Derbyshire group get wide local coverage All pupils at St Joseph's Primary in Hurst Green in Lancashire sang this message to their local MP - something for a congregation to emulate. The tune is the chimes of Big Ben; the words are We're. For. Fair.Trade. (The conductor was Hugh Gibbons, btw.) |
Tell your MP and local councillors - it's good news
"It doesn’t involve marching or campaigning." That's what Andrew Timer MP said when the Isle of Wight became a Fairtrade Island in October 2005.
“I want to congratulate everyone on the island who has worked so hard to get Fairtrade status. It’s the work of volunteers like you that makes a far greater difference than the work of people like me who are paid."
“People 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.”
FWIW The House of Commons has long been into Fairtrade - and Wales was the first Fairtrade Nation.
Tell your local news media - they welcome good news stories
Religious houses make news with action too!
This was a splash in the Watford Observer "Sisters were having none of it as they urged a supermarket to check their fair trade policy. The nuns from Hertfordshire headed to Sainsbury’s head office in Holborn, London last Wednesday to beg the supermarket to reconsider getting rid of Fairtrade goods. The supermarket giant announced on May 1 that they planned to swap products with Fairtrade certification for its own fairly traded products on its own brand Red Label. Sisters were doing it for themselves and 150,000 other people protesting the change. Rosary Priory Convent’s Sister Karen Marguerite d’Artois from Bushey and two other nuns laid down the gauntlet for Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe to see the impact Fairtrade has on poor communities overseas. They brought an oversized-suit case and prop plane ticket to highlight their plea which has been backed by almost 40 MPs and now they want the people of Hertfordshire to get involved in the campaign. The change may mean that farmers and producers lose direct control and money raised from their products. Sister Karen has been an advocate for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) hopes that raising awareness will save the supermarket from kicking the Fairtrade habit. She said: "I’ve always been a Fairtrade supporter, I first joined in 1999 and use it to engage with young people as they are really keen on Fairtrade. "We have an obligation to support Fairtrade; we as a nation have so much and we should share some of that."
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Download or browse on-screen this PDF
which has the key info |
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