“Fairtrade Towns” in Germany
More than 200 cities in Germany are promoting fair trade products.
Take Dortmund in North Rhine-Westfalia, for instance. In the city’s town hall canteen, fair trade coffee is the only type served, and the same goes for the coffee on the conference table at meetings of the local politicians. The local citizens are also involved in the network that includes development aid organizations, Worldshops, schools and church communities. Sports clubs are also serving fair trade products at their local facilities. It was this bundle of ideas and activities that earned Dortmund the Fairtrade Town seal, making it the first city in the Ruhr area to do so. Meanwhile, there are more than 200 communities in Germany that have gained this label. They include large cities, such as Munich or Frankfurt am Main, and smaller communities, such as Füssen or Bad Pyrmont. The Fairtrade Town designation is a combination of recognition and commitment. The cities that apply for the title have to undergo an approval process. This includes the specification that public institutions have to use fairtrade products and offer educational activities on the topic.
Fairtrade boom in Germany
There are more than 1,400 Fairtrade Towns around the globe. In Germany, the fairtrade campaign is organized by the development cooperation society TransFair in Cologne. The colleagues at TransFair say the idea is not just symbolic, it’s also very effective. When customers support the fairtrade concept, there are tangible results for the people in the producing countries. In Germany, the fairtrade sector is booming: the turnover has increased tenfold over the past ten years and now stands at more than half a billion euros.
Fair Handeln international exhibition from 10 to 13 April 2014 in Stuttgart
