Peterborough businesses embrace Fairtrade to support workers across the globe

Three establishments in the city centre have met the Fairtrade criteria by offering at least four Fairtrade products, which are guaranteed to be ethical and ensure a fair pay for farmers and workers.

The positive news comes as many workers prepare to return to their offices in the coming weeks, with Fairtrade Peterborough encouraging eateries to #BuildBackFairer and support growers worldwide by promoting Fairtrade.

On this theme, Peterborough-based roasters Select Coffee Services is offering a Fairtrade tea and coffee kit which it hopes businesses will take up, as this will support workers in poorer countries receive a fair wage for their labour and help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company also seels Fairtrade espresso beans, tea and sugar to cafés, bars and restaurants.

Peterborough has Fairtrade city status and the local branch took part in a café crawl on Monday which saw members visit 39 different city centre locations to find out if they met the criteria to be recognised as Fairtrade outlets, and to encourage others to get on board.

The volunteers discovered that three new outlets (the Lightbox Café and Greggs and Starbucks in Long Causeway) met the Fairtrade criteria, while several others promised to consider stocking Fairtrade products in the future after learning more about the initiative.

Sophie Yates, manager of the Greggs store, said: “The team at Greggs really are proud to serve Fairtrade tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar and orange juice here.

“It’s really easy to switch to Fairtrade in Peterborough and make a difference for some of the poorest farmers and their families across the world.”

More information on Fairtrade Peterborough, and a list of outlets which stock Fairtrade products, can be found at: https://fairtradepeterborough.wordpress.com/.