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Thurles was awarded Fairtrade Town status in December 2005 following an eighteen month campaign supported by many local volunteers. The present nine member steering group, which is chaired by the current Mayor of Thurles, Mrs Evelyn Nevin, are asking all Thurles residents and visitors alike to fully support Fairtrade Fortnight 2010.
Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 will run from 22nd February – 7th March.
They’ll be asking you to swap your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff; e.g. your usual tea, coffee, chocolate or bananas for Fairtrade tea, coffee, chocolate or bananas. Each swap will be proof that we as a nation want developing world producers to get a better and fairer deal.
How you can get involved
There’s lots of ways for you to make your mark on Fairtrade Fortnight 2010.
Big, small and medium sized – every single action counts. You could swap your sugar to Fairtrade, mix up a Fairtrade cocktail for friends, arrange a flask mob or get your entire town to swap to Fairtrade.
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Each swap that you make helps raise the issues that affect farmers, workers and farming communities. It proves to companies and governments alike that Ireland wants a fairer trading system. Hold Big Swap events in your local schools, church, library, club, workplace…etc to raise awareness of Fairtrade.
Why not host a swap your breakfast, break, lunch or supper. You could also get your workplace, school or college to permanently swap to a Fairtrade cuppa, also don’t forget the option to swap to Fairtrade sugar and snacks.
How about a Pamper Swap! you can swap your body lotions and cocoa butter products for Fairtrade ones. You could also host a cotton swapping event, swap your t-shirts, undies, socks, shopping bags to Fairtrade ones.
Go on, you know it makes sense – just do it and let us know what you are up to here on thurles.info or mail Una Johnston at email address una.johnston@mementomori.ie for more advice.
We here at Thurles.info will help you to promote your event.
  
Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee are asking all workplaces in Thurles to switch to products carrying the Fairtrade Mark as a meaningful way to make a real difference to the lives of farmers and workers in developing countries.
Thurles became a Fairtrade Town in December 2005 and each year we are required to audit the support for Fairtrade in town, in order to renew our Fairtrade Town status. We would love to hear from you if your workplace has switched or wants to switch to Fairtrade, so we can include you in our report to Fairtrade Mark Ireland!
The benefits to workplaces of making a simple switch so that Fairtrade tea, coffee, fruit juice, sugar, chocolate or biscuits are available to employees in the staff canteen or vending machines, in meetings or through corporate catering, even to the flowers at reception, would be significant and would include:
A visible gesture of your support for Thurles as a Fairtrade Town.
Thurles has been a Fairtrade Town since December 2005. We were awarded Ireland’s Most Creative Fairtrade Town in 2007. The Council has installed permanent signs announcing our Fairtrade Town status on the five approach roads. The current Mayor of Thurles chairs our meetings.
Joining our network of high profile Fairtrade supporters in Thurles.
There are over 50 shops, cafes, restaurants, businesses, schools and community groups in Thurles that actively support Fairtrade. Companies that serve Fairtrade to their staff, customers and clients include Dew Valley Foods, Tipperary Institute, Hayes Hotel, Thurles Chamber, St. Patrick’s College and Thurles Technology Park.
Continue reading Enhance Corporate Social Responsibility Say Thurles Fairtrade
 Pictured here is Gerard O’Hara, Thurles Fairtrade Town committee, presenting competition winner Jerry Comerford, Templetuohy, Thurles Co.Tipperary with a Fairtrade hamper, accompanied by Noel Kennedy member of Thurles Fairtrade Town committee.
Meanwhile the first Fairtrade Certified products from Palestine were launched in Ireland recently. Zaytoun’s range of organic and Fairtrade Certified Olive Oils are the first FAIRTRADE Mark products of their kind, and the Zaytoun company hopes the Fairtrade link will open up new markets for marginalised Palestinian producers in the West Bank and Gaza regions.
Current political circumstances mean that Palestinian producers are only accessing less than a quarter of their EU 2000-tonne-a-year quota for olive oil. Fairtrade campaigners say the launch of the Zaytoun Fairtrade olive oil brand will help create a viable, long-term market for thousands of Palestinian farmers while the Fairtrade premium will also help farmers modernise and expand their production.
Nasser Abufarha, an olive oil producer and chairman of the Palestinian Fairtrade Association which represents over 1,700 farmers and producers stated:
“Gaining access to markets in the west for Zaytoun olive oil is a very important step forward for our producers. We are very proud that Zaytoun is the first olive oil product in the world to achieve Fairtrade certification. We also hope that this launch will focus attention on Palestine as a place of agricultural production and highlight the difficulties Palestinian farmers face in getting their produce to domestic and international markets”.
 The finale of Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 was a huge success! From noon Friday 6th March to noon Saturday 7th March over 30,000 people all over Ireland ate a Fairtrade Banana and helped to set the world record in conjunction with the other countries across Europe. Helping achieve this record were pupils from the Community School here in Cashel Co.Tipperary.
 During Fairtrade Fortnight Cadbury and Fairtrade Mark Ireland announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the country’s top selling chocolate bar, by the end of Summer 2009.
Anne Sawbridge, managing director of Cadbury Ireland, stated
“We are proud to make this announcement, which builds on our heritage of working with our supply chain to ensure the quality of life of farmers in the communities in which they live. By working in partnership with Fairtrade Mark Ireland, we are going to ensure more people in Ireland buy Fairtrade products and we look forward to achieving more together than we ever could individually.”
This groundbreaking move will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana, both increasing Fairtrade cocoa sales for existing certified farming groups, as well as opening up new opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system. This move will represent a 45% increase in Fairtrade sales in Ireland.
 All across Ireland, students and teachers are raising awareness and availability of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark.
A Fairtrade School is one that has made a commitment to supporting and using Fairtrade. They ensure that Fairtrade products are available in their canteen, tuck shop, staff room and vending machine. They raise awareness of Fairtrade and the benefits that it brings to producers in developing countries.
The recent visit to the Ursuline primary school by the Fairtrade team with guest of honour John Nuwagaba was organised to promote Fairtrade Fortnight and the positive benefits of changing purchasing behaviour to guarantee a better deal for third world producers.
Pictured are; (back row) Catherine Reynolds (Acting Principal, Ursuline Primary School) and Laurenz Egan (Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee). Seated; (Left to right) John Nuwagaba (Ankole Coffee Co-op, Uganda) Sister Mercedes (Ursuline Community Thurles), Dunstan Burke (Fairtrade Mark Ireland), Rita Kenny (Visiting teacher) and Catherine Corcoran (Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee).
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