Progress has been made at UCL and UCLU in this area; more fairtrade goods are being sold than ever before. However we still have not achieved fairtrade status. Help us persuade both the union and the university at large that this should be done as soon as possible!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trade is a matter of life and death for many of the world’s poorest people. But the rich and powerful are pursuing trade policies that put profits before the needs of people and the planet.

Despite the enormous wealth of today´s global economy, 20% of the world’s people still have to live on less than one dollar a day. International trade should be helping them to escape such grinding poverty — but it isn´t.

For example, while rich countries give $1 billion a year in aid for agriculture in poor countries, they spend $1 billion a day subsidising their own agriculture.

The support given to rich countries in subsidies means they can sell their goods for less than the cost of production — undercutting producers in developing countries, and driving down world prices. Poor farmers are driven further into poverty; many lose their livelihoods altogether.

Fairtrade is a response to unjust trading rules and practices that make the poor poorer and the rich richer. Fairtrade provides support to some of the most marginalised producers in the world, by guaranteeing their basic rights and enabling them to engage with the global trade system.

People & Planet’s campaign aims to:

* Guarantee more producers and workers basic rights
* Ensure a commitment to fair trade principles within the UK’s schools, colleges and universities
* Influence wider policy and behaviour so that trade works for all

[text taken from the national website]