Tag: sugar

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Nestlé Rejects Fairtrade

rainbowturtle2002

This week the chocolate and sweets giant Nestlé announced that they would no longer be buying Fairtrade cocoa or sugar, meaning that some of the UK’s favourite treats like KitKats will no longer feature the Fairtrade logo. This move has been widely condemned, with the Fairtrade Foundation noting that:

The move will mean a loss of almost £2 million (£1.95 million) in Fairtrade Premium each year for co-operatives in Côte d’Ivoire, Fiji and Malawi, representing 27,000 small scale producers. This income is a real lifeline for some of the world’s poorest farmers.

Fairtrade Foundation

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum have also released a statement expressing their disappointment, as well as their concern for producers in what is already a difficult time. Rainbow Turtle would also like to add our voices to those condemning Nestlé for their actions and asking them to reverse their position. To show your own support, you can sign this petition and share it widely.

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Sugar Producers’ Visit

rainbowturtle2002

Today we were lucky enough to have a visit from Malawian sugar producers, Nduzani and Aubrey, organised by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, in conjunction with ourselves and the Renfrewshire Fair Trade Steering Group.

First, Nduzani and Aubrey visited Bargarran Primary School in Erskine to speak to pupils from Bargarran, St John Bosco and Rashielea about all of the work that goes into growing sugar cane and how the support of the Fairtrade Foundation helps them to grow their business and support their communities. All three schools had lots and lots of questions for the sugar producers, covering everything from housing, climate change and the weather in Malawi to how to defend your crops from snakes and elephants!

After our visit to Bargarran, Nduzani and Aubrey were then whisked over to the Rainbow Turtle shop to have a look at (and a taste of!) our selection of Divine chocolate, which their sugar cane is used to make. It was a very enjoyable and very informative day!