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 SOUTHWARK DIOCESE EARNS FAIRTRADE ACCOLADE

After more than two years of effort, Southwark Diocese has become a ‘Fairtrade Diocese’ – joining the fourteen other Church of England dioceses awarded this status by the Fairtrade Foundation.

The accolade was earned as a result of a concerted campaign launched during Fairtrade Fortnight in 2006 by a Diocesan Fairtrade Group set up to make the parishes of the Diocese more aware of Fairtrade issues and products.

The campaign successfully persuaded almost 60% of parishes to pledge to only use Fairtrade coffee and tea when providing refreshments, to support the principles of ‘Trade Justice’ and ‘Make Poverty History’ and to encourage the use of fairly-traded goods among their congregations.

Diocesan Social Responsibility Officer, The Rev. Barry Goodwin, who headed the Diocesan Fairtrade campaign, said that he was delighted by the accolade but that the journey had not ended.

He said: “We still need to encourage one another in using more and more fairly traded goods by seeing the importance of the Fairtrade principle as well as the wider economic debate of which it is part”.


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Diocesan Communications Officer
Tel: 020-7939 9400
Mobile: 07831-694021
Fax: 020-7939 9468