08 October 2008Local residents can celebrate Sevenoaks being awarded Fairtrade Town status and sample first hand a range of Fairtrade products at a special event being held in the town next month.
The free event will take place on Saturday 4 March from 10.30am to 12.30pm at Sevenoaks Town Council offices, Bradbourne Vale Road, Sevenoaks. It will be hosted by the Mayor of Sevenoaks, Cllr Robert Piper.
A local action group, the Sevenoaks Soroptimists have organised the event which will include entertainment, displays from local schools and Fairtrade refreshments.
Gwyneth Brearley of the Sevenoaks Soroptimists, says: “Everyone has worked really hard and it is wonderful that we have achieved this status. This is a project which relies on support from the community, it’s excellent that local people are so keen to learn more about Fairtrade.”
Cllr Robert Piper, Mayor of Sevenoaks Town Council, which is supporting the campaign, adds: “Everyone should be very proud that we have achieved Fairtrade town status for our town. We want to continue to promote Fairtrade in Sevenoaks town as everyone can play a part by looking out for and buying Fairtrade products in local shops."
Fairtrade Town status shows that a certain proportion of the towns retail outlets offer fairly traded goods for sale. The status also recognises the number of businesses and other organisations, such as churches, using fairtrade products for their own use.
To help Sevenoaks achieve Fairtrade Town status a Fairtrade Town Network, made up of over 20 local organisations including Sevenoaks Town Council and Sevenoaks District Council, was set up by the Sevenoaks Soroptimists.
As part of the Network, a Steering Group of local people was formed to work at applying for the town status and continue to raise awareness of Fairtrade locally, this resulted in Sevenoaks officially being awarded Fairtrade Town status in October 2005.
Sevenoaks town already has a number of churches, at least five local shops, and four catering establishments offering products locally.
For more information on supporting Fairtrade locally and details of the celebration event visit Sevenoaks District Council’s website, www.sevenoaks.gov.uk.
