Author Archives: Tony Thornby

Wycombe Collaboration begins Fairtrade Fortnight 2026

Wycombe Fairtrade thought that our joint promotion with Co-Op Hazelemere was a very worthwhile and enjoyable event, engaging with customers and even encouraging a few sales of Coop own brand Fairtrade goods like wine and chocolate!

There was a great informal atmosphere and it was good working jointly with the Coop, one of the earliest supermarkets to support Fairtrade and one of the founder members of the Fairtrade organization.

Our treasurer (Sheena King) has subsequently received an email from the manager of the store (Connor Oliver), thanking the group for its support as well as a group photo around the display table with Connor and another member of the Your Coop Store staff.

Fairtrade Town promotion

Connor Discoll Co-Op Store Manager and Mike King Chairman Wycombe Fairtrade

A selection of the Co-Op's Fairtrade chocolate

Mixture of Fairtrade Products sold by the Co-Op 1

Connor told our chairman (Mike King) that even he was quite surprised at the number of Fairtrade own brand products that the Hazlemere Coop sold when he witnessed the impressive range displayed together on the table.

It was a very worthwhile and satisfying event for the group to support and it made a great start to Fairtrade Fortnight 2026.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2026

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During Fairtrade Fortnight 2026 we’re asking you to Do it Fair – for People, for Planet and for Fair Pay.

Fair Pay – Key Messaging

In 2026 Fairtrade launched our new Do It Fair campaign which focuses on People, Planet and Pay. Fairtrade Fortnight 2026 will focus on Fair Pay. It highlights how supporting Fairtrade can drive fairer pay for the people we rely on around the world. This can be through our everyday shopping choices and by calling for change in the unfair systems that hold them back.

At the heart of the campaign is a simple idea: However we earn a living, we all deserve to be paid fairly.
Fair Pay matters because everyone deserves the chance to live well.

We all need enough money for the basics. Whether it’s feeding our families, keeping a roof over our heads or planning for the future, we all need to earn enough.

That’s why fair pay matters, whoever you are and whatever you do. Buying Fairtrade and speaking up for change supports the people behind the products we love to earn a decent living. Signing our petition or contacting a powerful decision maker only takes a few minutes, and there are Fairtrade products for every budget every purchase helps make the world a fairer place.

Resources can be found at

https://www.fairtrade.net/uk-en/get-involved/support-fairtrade/current-campaigns/fairtrade-fortnight.html
https://www.shared-interest.com/en/fairtrade-fortnight
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/blog/fairtrade-fortnight-resources

STORIES > Flowers Tea Wine Coffee Cocoa Bananas

Standing with the Together Alliance

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.