Two weeks entirely dedicated to the principles of fair trade: the Fairtrade Fortnight is a project launched by fifteen Catholic dioceses of England and Wales which from Monday 13 March are promoting small markets and food-tasting sessions to promote products from the developing countries. Some of these local churches, such as Southampton, Portsmouth, Arundel-Brighton, Brentwood, Hexham-Newcastle and Lancaster, can already boast of Fairtrade status, which is granted when a third of the parishes in the diocese uses tea and coffee produced according to ethical criteria and when the diocese is involved in the promotion of Fairtrade products. A further ten dioceses are waiting to obtain Fairtrade status: “Becoming a fairtrade diocese is far more than a contribution to ensure fair prices for goods produced in some of the poorest parts of the world”, declares Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth in the South of England, “What’s important for our diocese, where 55% of the parishes now use fairtrade goods, is the greater awareness we have acquired of the scourge of the exploitation of workers in the Third World and how we can help them in their struggles”.
