In this mini podcast episode, we meet long standing Rainbow Turtle volunteers: Gillian Henry, Roisin Mulholland and Maureen Brough. In it they share why fair trade is important to them and what are their favourite products that they can buy in the shop. Unsurprisingly, chocolate and coffee feature high on their lists!
Michael Gidney, currently the chief executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, has worked for at least 30 years in international development (which corresponds nicely with the 30th anniversary of FT movement in UK). He started out as a teacher in Kenya and then for their children’s services in an orphanage, has worked with Voluntary Services Overseas and with Amnesty International. He joined Traidcraft in 19991 and became Director of Policy, then moved to the Fairtrade Foundation in 2009 as deputy executive director and has been chief executive since 2012. He is also a trustee of Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.
This was a most interesting interview where we discussed the dangers of commoditisation of products and the importance of fair trade to producers and farmers.
As part of its celebration for the 30th anniversary of the fair trade mark, Renfrewshire schools ran an artwork competition using this year’s theme for fair trade fortnight of Being The Change. As I took photos of all these fantastic panels outside Paisley’s museum, I couldn’t help but be moved by their inspiring work. Enclosed are the shortlisted and winning entries.
Renfrewshire has a proud history of supporting the Fairtrade movement, with Paisley first becoming a Fairtrade town in 2003. Then in 2007, Fairtrade Zone status was achieved for the whole Renfrewshire area, with Renfrewshire Council working alongside many volunteers, stakeholders and communities across Renfrewshire, many of whom continue these efforts today.
Renfrewshire’s children and young people have always been champions of the Fairtrade movement and are often the catalysts for changing purchasing habits within their own households. Many Renfrewshire schools and nurseries support the Fairtrade movement across their school communities.
The beautiful artwork displayed here has been created by pupils from Mary Russell School in Paisley, Newmains Primary School in Renfrew, and St Peter’s Primary School in Paisley.
The artists’ ages range from Primary 4 up to secondary pupils and the work shows their response to ‘Be the Change, which is the theme for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight.
We would like to thank all the children and young people, and their teachers, for such fantastic and creative pieces. [Text courtesy of Renfrewshire Council.]
Thanks to Renfrewshire Council for organising and funding this competition.
Fairtrade is an international movement to support the fair, ethical and sustainable production and procurement of goods.
Fairtrade focuses on paying a fair price for products to support low income and disadvantaged farmers, producers and workers in lower income countries.
Fairtrade is often recognised by the Fairtrade mark, which indicates that the production of an item has met agreed standards. ‘Fairtrade Fortnight’ helps to celebrate Fairtrade movement. In 2024, Fairtrade Fortnight runs from Monday 9 September to Sunday 22 September.
Fairtrade closely aligns with efforts to tackle the climate crisis-at the heart of Fairtrade is sustainable farming and empowering smallholder farmers. Fairtrade products also comply with strict environmental standards.
Many Fairtrade producers and farmers are based in the global south, in areas most significantly impacted by the extremes of weather recognised to be caused by climate change.
Find out more at www.fairtrade.org.uk
Rainbow Turtle education officer, Philippa Jeffery, recently decorated our shop window to publicise the 1,000 scarves project that Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland (SOHTIS) is currently running. Many people have been trafficked into Scotland and they have often been overlooked and hidden in plain sight.
The project takes second hand scarves and converts them into weaving kits which can be purchased from SOHTIS. The kits have been taken to schools and community groups so that they can all get involved.
The weavings have been made by people of all ages. Everyone who has made a weaving fills out a little card with a little about themselves. The weavings will become part of bigger artworks that will be publicly displayed in the future in order to raise awareness of human trafficking.
Philippa linked the scarves project with the idea of an advent calendar for our Christmas window. She stitched pockets into her scarves and placed 25 different fair trade products, sold in the shop, into them. Her work was kindly featured in a recent article in the Paisley Daily Express.
There are close links between promoting fair trade and shining a light on human trafficking. By buying fair trade products we help farmers and producers in developing countries create stable communities. The fair trade premium can be spent by the community on health care, education and clean water supplies. People who live in these villages and communities are less likely to end up being trafficked.
If you would like to know more about the 1,000 scarves project, or the education work that Rainbow Turtle does, you can contact Philippa here. Scarves can be donated at Rainbow Turtle.
Rainbow Turtle is seeking to recruit an experienced and enthusiastic Education Officer
https://goodmoves.com/vacancy/a4s3z00000xnZteAAE/Education-Officer
Commitment: Part time 14 hours per week. Some additional hours may be available depending on funding
Salary: £18,000 pro rata
Location: Paisley. Homeworking available with negotiation
Annual Leave: 20 days pro rata + public holidays
Rainbow Turtle is seeking to recruit an education officer to fill a current part time vacancy. The successful candidate will provide workshops, talks and conferences to schools, community and church groups about fair trade. They will be a self-motivated person who can share their passion about fair trade with their audiences.
Requirements to apply for the post: a current CV with the names of two referees, accompanied by a personal statement demonstrating how you would meet the skills and qualities essential for this post.
For more information and to request a job description, contact: info@rainbowturtle.org.uk.
Closing date: Wednesday 30th June
The Fairtrade Foundation have recently shared the Fairtrade Fortnight theme for 2021: ‘Climate, Fairtrade and You’! Fairtrade Fortnight takes place 22 February – 7 March 2021 and so will be taking a different format from previous years, with limited opportunities for in-person learning and campaigning. We’ll be keeping you up to date on everything the Fairtrade Foundation, and others, have planned for this year’s exciting and relevant theme!
First up, for those aged 5 to 25, there’s the opportunity to ‘share your vision of the world you want’ as part of a youth exhibition of art, film, and creative writing on Fairtrade and the environment. You can find out more about this, including how to enter your work, here.
Teachers, parents, and guardians may be interested in this activity as a way to bring the ideas of Fair Trade into learning from home!
We recently had a review of Rainbow Turtle to determine if what we were doing was still needed and if we should change the focus on what we do. Out of that process we had another look at our Mission Statement, Vision and Values:
Mission statementOur purpose is to help alleviate inequality and financial inequity across the world as part of the global Fair Trade movement. We help educate and empower Renfrewshire citizens to understand and act upon global inequities to lead to a fairer world for everyone.VisionAn equal world where everyone is paid a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.ValuesEquity, Equality, Education, Global and Local Empowerment.
We were really pleased to be invited along today to Mary Russell School for a lunch to celebrate their 50th anniversary. We work a lot with Mary Russell, and they’re big supporters of Fair Trade, as Gemma and Lynsay noticed when they sat opposite a Fairtrade mark for their lunch! The food was lovely, but even more exciting was hearing from pupils about the amazing work that the school does now, as well as how special Mary Russell the person, a pioneer of Special Education in the 20th Century, was. Finding a display of pupils’ work on Fair Trade was also a highlight. Thank you to Mary Russell School for inviting us!
