Here’s a list of organisations that may help you to become more familiar with fair trade, as well as the issues that go hand-in-hand.
Local Organisations
Renfrewshire Council – in 2009, Renfrewshire Council was awarded the status of Fairtrade Zone. The Fairtrade pages of the council website offer advice for schools, individuals, faith groups and businesses.
Renfrewshire Fairtrade Steering Group – a local partnership that helped Renfrewshire become a Fairtrade Zone. It aims to continue promoting Fairtrade and to maintain this status.
Paisley On The Web – in 2013, the town of Paisley celebrated 10 years as a Fairtrade town. Whilst the website itself has no dedicated Fairtrade pages, the blog section often mentions upcoming events, as well as those that have been and gone.
We will be adding links to local Fairtrade towns shortly. Please get in touch if you’d like to be included.
Scottish Organisations
Scottish Fair Trade – established in 2007 with the aim of securing Fair Trade Nation status for Scotland, which they did in 2013. Amongst other things, they offer advice on how to become a Fair Trade School.
IDEAS – International Development Education Association Scotland (IDEAS) is a network of organisations and individuals across Scotland that actively support and promote Development Education and Education for Global Citizenship. Their website is full of Education resources and they also publish an online magazine called STRIDE, which aims to promote the ideas and issues behind Global Citizenship. They also have an excellent case study from a Glasgow school, introducing the issues across the whole curriculum.
True Origin – with the aim of “helping small farmers and producers to work their way out of poverty and unlock their own potential”, JTS are one of our partners. As well as selling and promoting fairly traded products, they also provide Resources for schools and, like us, can help with incorporating the issues surrounding fair trade into the Curriculum for Excellence.
WOSDEC – currently with six centres, the West Of Scotland Development Education Centre aims to “encourage teachers and young people to be confident and effective contributors to a more just and sustainable world”. They promote professional learning and education focused on Global Citizenship and have lots of Resources available.
Scotland Malawi Partnership – launched in 2004 and born out of the University of Strathclyde’s ‘Malawi Millennium Project’, the Partnership was formed to bring Scottish-based, Malawi-focused groups together; pooling resources and information. They are also involved in education and can help to establish partnerships between Scottish and Malawian schools.
SCIAF -The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund was launched in 1965 and now operates in 16 of the poorest countries around the world; offering particular help and support with preventing hunger, building peace and to those with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Mary’s Meals – formerly Scottish International Relief, the charity was initially established in 1992 to help victims of the war in Bosnia. Since then it has grown to help children all over the world, by getting meals to children in schools and therefore improving their health, nutrition and education.
UK/International Organisations
The Fairtrade Foundation – established in 1992 by a number of groups including Oxfam, Christian Aid and the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, its aim is to “deliver greater impact for producers, and engage even more of the UK public in shopping and campaigning for a better deal for farmers and workers in developing countries”. They have a separate site set up for Schools – full of teaching and learning resources, as well as information and guidance on how to become a Fair Trade School.
Oxfam – you may already be familiar with the work of probably the world’s most well-known charity. But you may not have seen the excellent Education pages they have, which cover a huge range of relevant topics.
Christian Aid – born out of collaboration between English and Irish church leaders in the 1940s, with the aim of helping European refugees post WWII. Their primary and secondary schools teaching resources offer a large range of activities and ideas to help raise awareness of global issues surrounding poverty. This includes lessons plans, activities for youth groups, as well as research and policy information.
Save The Children – setup by two sisters in 1919, who saw the effect the war had had on children across Europe, the charity now works in over 120 countries and aims to help save children’s lives, fight for their rights and help them to fulfill their potential.
CAFOD – The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, aims to tackle poverty and build peace. It has some excellent worksheets, games and activities available for download.