Children of Ghanaian cocoa farmers come to Birmingham to persuade shopkeepers to stock more Fair Trade goods
At 9am on the 16th June the Shared Earth retail store in New Street, Birmingham will be visited by two very special teenagers who have flown all the way from Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farmers’ co-operative in Ghana to see their family’s products on sale in the UK.
Stephen Amankwah and Joycelin Segbedzi, both 14, will be visiting Shared Earth, and will be welcomed by Area Manager Lynne Dawson who has organised Fair Trade treat bags for them.
Accompanied by two giant Dubble Fairtrade chocolate bars, the two 14 year olds will make quite an entrance as they learn how their chocolate is loved by so many throughout the UK and work to extend their plea for more shopkeepers to stock Fair Trade goods through their campaign called Mission:Possible.
Shared Earth Birmingham, as well as Shared Earth’s six other stores across the country stock Dubble bars as well as the full range of Divine chocolate, Dubble’s parent company.
Sara Barron, Dubble HQ Producer comments about the visit “MISSION:POSSIBLE has had a fantastic initial response from our signed up Dubble Agents who are always asking us for new challenges and ways of spreading the Fair Trade message. We’re really delighted that Shared Earth is helping us promote the launch of the MISSION:POSSIBLE campaign in Birmingham. The success of Shared Earth is a testament to how popular Fair Trade and ethically sourced products are in the area. Shared Earth stores stock the full range of Divine and Dubble products and we’re hoping that other shops in Birmingham will follow their example and give Fair Trade goods a go!”
The Shared Earth store in Birmingham is the largest Fair Trade store in the UK with over 5,000 different products. It opened in 1992 and despite the current economic downturn, sales are 7% up on last year showing that people increasingly care about the products they buy. With 10 staff the store is open 7 days a week and many products can be found and bought online at www.sharedearth.co.uk.
Shared Earth was founded in 1986 and now sources its products from 15 countries through 37 producers. It aims to double the sales of non-food Fair Trade products in the UK through its plans to grow through franchising, which is the first Fair Trade franchise to be available in the UK.
Divine and Shared Earth are both members of IFAT (the world’s global Fair Trade Association) which sets the 10 standards of Fair Trade world-wide. Jeremy Piercy, founder of Shared Earth is delighted with the visit to promote Fair Trade, “It is great to have the link across the two sectors of handicrafts and Fair Trade food. Producers throughout the world make beautiful Fair Trade crafts as well as the food you see in the supermarkets. This campaign carries the vital message that all trade should ultimately be fair.”
Lynne concludes, “This is an exciting chance for these children to experience first hand their products being displayed and sold in the UK and really feel that they can make a difference to promote Fair Trade.”
Shared Earth’s Birmingham Shop front.
