Fairtrade Festival hits campus

Week 8 saw the arrival of the University of Warwick’s annual Fairtrade Festival, run as part of the nationwide “Fairtrade Fortnight”.

The Festival aims to encourage students to consider the ethics of production and is run in conjunction with the Fairtrade Foundation.

A stall on the Piazza provided information, leaflets and conversation about the importance of Fairtrade. Surveys were conducted to find out how aware students and staff are about Fairtrade.

Wednesday saw the Festival relocate to the Duck for a quiz with Fairtrade prizes, followed by a discussion about the future of Fairtrade at the University and the possible establishment of a Fairtrade Society.

On Thursday and Friday the Festival hosted a forum featuring a student panel and discussions about the role of Fairtrade in the wider world. “Fairtrade is an example of responsible capitalism in action” said Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. “Choosing Fairtrade offers farmers and workers a chance to emerge from poverty, through fairer wages, safer conditions and the Fairtrade Premium.”

In a week where Dalibor Rohac of the Legatum Institute made a number of claims on the BBC about why he thinks Fairtrade does not work, events such as the Warwick Fairtrade Festival are significant.