Trade Aid Wellington celebrates World Fair Trade Day - 13th May 2017

Media release

Trade Aid Wellington celebrates World Fair Trade Day - 13th May 2017.

For immediate release

New Zealanders have helped 511,520 talented people around the world improve their lives through fair trade over the last year, and Trade Aid is having a nationwide celebration to say Thank you.

New Zealand’s oldest and largest fair trade organisation, nationwide Trade Aid, is celebrating World Fair Trade Day on Saturday, 13th May 2017 with a variety of events happening through the 30 stores to demonstrate how people’s lives are changed through fair trade supply chains.

People like Mai, a Thai rice farmer who attributes her health and wellbeing to becoming a fair trade organic farmer, “The chemicals used in my neighbours’ fields gave me headaches and made me sick,” says Mai. “Changing to organic production changed all that. I feel like I have a healthier life now, and safer food.”

Women like Sofiya from Delhi, India, was told that as a woman she was ‘the lowest of the low’, but who in challenging the status quo is now a proud jewellery artisan who says, “Fair trade gives you freedom — I now have respect.”

Nabil, a Palestinian almond farmer and Maly, a Cambodian artisan, both attribute the change they have experienced to fair trade. Nabil says, “When I started as an almond farmer, I started with nothing. Before, we were followers of traders and decisions were imposed on us. Now we are empowered decision makers.” Maly, grew up deaf and didn’t learn to speak until she came to a Cambodian fair trade training organisation to train as a tailor. Maly claims this changed her life, saying, “Fair trade gives me a future.”

“These are just a few of the stories of change we have to share from amongst our 65 trading partners around the world,” says Christian Pilkington, Manager of the Wellington Trade Aid store, “and we want our customers to know that with every fair trade purchase they make, they are contributing to this change. Trade Aid Wellington will be celebrating this success with in-store tea tastings and warmly invites their regular as well as new customers to come along on Saturday, 13th May from 11am to 2pmto join in the celebrations and visit our new location. “We;re looking forward to showing people our cozy, new location up the road from our old on Victoria St”.

For more information visit: www.tradeaid.org.nz

Who are Trade Aid’s 511,520 talented producers?

Craft partner organisations = 39

Food partner organisations = 27

Total number of trading partners (food and craft) = 66

Total number of countries we trade with = 25

Total number of craft producers within the 39 organisations = 33,151

Total number of food producers within the 27 organisations = 478,369

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