Author Archives: Tony Thornby

Standing with the Together Alliance

On Saturday 28th April 2026, Fairtrade Foundation joined the Together Alliance and half a million people marching through central London to show that unity is stronger than division.

The Fairtrade Foundation believes in a world that is fair, inclusive and rooted in justice, both here in the UK and for the people across the world that grow the food we rely on every day.

“Before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Whether you buy Fairtrade or take part in their campaigns, your support helps create a fairer, more united world. Please add your name to the petition calling on the government to back the people behind our food.

Wycombe for Fairtrade and the Co-Op working together

The steering group members of Fairtrade for Wycombe were pleased to work with Karen McNeil, the Community Manager of the merged Mid-Counties and Central England Region of the Co-Op, to publicise Fairtrade with the range of Fairtrade products that the Co-Op sell.

Wycombe For Fairtrade Steering Group and the store manager

The promotion took place on the morning of Friday 6th March in the Co-Op store Hazlemere. Many shoppers were enticed to try the sample products funded by the Co-Op – all were impressed by the range of products and their quality. Some found themselves so impressed that they added to their purchases.

My Purchases

WORKING TOGETHER

Co-op are predominantly a members’ organization with a very good Fairtrade track record going back 30 years.  The Co-op were the first UK store to support Fairtrade goods and are the largest Fairtrade wine sellers.

This event follows the Co-Op helping to fund tombola prizes when the Wycombe For Fairtrade group ran a stall in May 2025 at the Pann Mill Open Day. The tombola was definitely an important factor in the high level of interest in the stall.

As a result of this joint event at the Hazlemere store, we have high hopes of collaborating with Karen again on some future projects. We are also to receive details of the ” Co-ops’ Fairtrade Treasure Hunts”, arranged with local schools as well as a booklet listing how the Co-op could offer a different teaching approach to those schools that had “Fairtrade” within its curriculum. We will publish info on these here in due course.

It was a very successful, productive, and constructive morning on so many levels.

Fair to Planet

The products we love are under threat – and so are producers’ livelihoods. The climate crisis is making it harder to grow everyday crops like cocoa and coffee. Farmers are dealing with unpredictable weather, failing harvests, and rising costs, often without the support they need.

Fairtrade enables farmers to invest in the land they rely on, improving soil and water quality, protecting biodiversity and forests, and building climate resilience. Fairtrade also works with businesses to strengthen environmental responsibility across supply chains. Protecting the planet means protecting the people who depend on it.

Learn more from Vijaya

Fairness isn’t a given. 

But when we listen to producers and farmers – and put pressure in the right places – we have the power to change that.

Fairness might not be the way of the world yet, but when we all do our bit, we can make it happen.

I am Dora Tiga, a cocoa farmer and a mother from Ghana. My community did not have school for small children, which made child labor in cocoa farms more likely, so I decided to start one. Mine is just one story of how every actions takes us towards a fairer future, one that is fair to people where rights are expected at work.

Safe conditions are standards, opportunities are equal. Whatever your gender and every child goes to school, not work. One that is fair on the planet where farming practices care for our climate and naturally protects livelihoods and the products we love, and one that fair where everyone ends enough to feed their families, keep a roof over their heads, and plan for the future. So if you want to create a world that is fair to people and planet it, join the movement.

Fair to People

No one should work in fear. Behind the products we use every day are people, farmers and workers, who deserve safe conditions, equal opportunities, and dignity at work. Children belong in school, not at work.

That’s why Fairtrade is campaigning for governments to demand better from business, so people’s rights are protected everywhere, not just where companies choose to act.

Meet Dora Atiiga: Cocoa Farmer, Teacher, Mother, and Changemaker

Fair Pay

We’re all worried about money. Farmers and workers are no different. To feed their families, keep a roof over their heads, and plan for the future, farmers and workers need to earn enough, just like everyone else. But too often, the people behind our products are paid the least, while others take the profit.

Buying Fairtrade guarantees that producers are paid a decent wage or income. There are Fairtrade products for every budget, and every one helps shift the balance towards a fairer global economy.

Find out more from Rebecca

Do it Fair – What “fair” really means

Around the world, the people who grow, pick, stitch and make the things we buy are facing the same challenges: unfair pay, unsafe working conditions, and a climate crisis threatening their livelihoods. Fairtrade exists to change this, and to push for the rules that make fairness the norm, not the exception.

When we listen to producers and farmers, what we hear is clear, fairness breaks down in three key places:

People – rights and safety at work
Planet – protecting the land producers depend on
Pay – earning enough to live well and plan for the future

That’s why our 2026 focus is simple: People. Planet. Pay. Do it Fair.

Demand business that’s fair to people and planet by signing the Fairtrade Foundation petition in as quick as 60 seconds.

What needs to happen now?

The UK government are currently reviewing its approach to responsible business, a rare, once‑in‑a‑decade opportunity to close gaps in the law – and prevent harm before it happens, not after. Farmers and workers can’t afford for this moment to be missed. Help us demand business that’s fair to people and planet. Too often farmers and workers are undercut by businesses that are failing to pay fair wages, protecting workers, and safeguarding the environment. We can change this – stand with producers, farmers and workers around the world.

All Saint’s Christmas Tree Festival

The Christmas Tree Festival for local organizations at All Saint’s Parish Church, High Wycombe began on Thursday 18th of December and runs each day until Tuesday 23rd December 2026

Full details can be found at https://www.allsaintshighwycombe.org/treefestival.html

Wycombe Fairtrade sponsored a tree which we decorated with a mixture of hand-made decorations and those purchased from WFTO World Shops from Palestine, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Here are some images of our decorating team.

Sarah Moroz and Mike King
Sarh Moroz and Sheena King

News about our Stalls for Fairtrade Fortnight 2025

Ark Cafe at Marlow Methodist Church
10.00am. to 12.00 noon. Saturday 4th October 2025

This was Wycombe For Fairtrade’s first visit to Marlow as part of our wider outreach plans. We sold a range of Fairtrade certified products as well as Christmas cards while encouraging people to sign a partition about prompting large UK Tea companies to sell more Fairtrade certified tea to benefit small-scale producers in the Global South.

The most popular products were the Traidcraft Christmas cards and the tropical fruit jams. Sales at this event totaled over £160.00. The Treasurer managed to successfully utilize our new SumUp card reader to record card transactions.

Mike King with Fairtrade Information
Sheena King with Fairtrade Products

Sunnybank Methodist Church, Downley, High Wycombe
2.00pm to 4.30pm. Wednesday 8th October 2025

Sheena, Lesley, and Mike spent an interesting afternoon at Sunnybank church, setting up a Fairtrade product stall and displaying Fairtrade information and posters, both before and after their scheduled film show in the afternoon.

Fairtrade Christmas cards were a popular choice in what was a well-supported event. We enjoyed the very emotional and excellent film version of “Les Misérables”. We raised £125.55 at this event in a very welcoming atmosphere.

‘Do it Fair’ this 2025 Fairtrade Fortnight

2025’s Fairtrade Fortnight will be taking place 22 September – 05 October. Over these fourteen days, we’ll be celebrating the difference we can all make as part of a UK-wide movement calling for a fairer system behind the things we consume every day.