What is Fairtrade Fortnight?
For 14 days every year companies, individuals and groups come together to share incredible stories of global communities (often in areas of the world which experience exploitation) and the positive impact which the Fairtrade system has within them. This year Fairtrade Fortnight returns with an emphasis on climate crisis.
Starting on 21st February and ending on 6th March, Owens Coffee will be actively participating in this important conversation.
What does Fairtrade mean?
Fairtrade is about more than meeting a series of social, economic and environmental standards. It is also about being able to support farmers with the tools and knowledge to adapt: to prepare for future threats and opportunities. It helps communities mitigate the effects of climate change, usually amplified as a direct result of poverty.
As well as ensuring a fair price is paid for products under the Fairtrade scheme, a Fairtrade Premium is also paid to the producers and their communities, which contributes to the cost of education, training and other business initiatives.
Owens' plans for Fairtrade Fortnight 2022
On behalf of Fairtrade Devon, this Fairtrade Fortnight, Owens will be presenting to young students at school conferences in Totnes and Ivybridge, as well as contributing towards the content of presentations at schools throughout Devon.
We will also be speaking with small businesses at the BIG Brew Coffee Morning in Totnes on Saturday 26th February.
Working alongside Devon Development Education at the conferences, we will help tell the story of individuals who grow the coffee in the Twongerekawa Coko Cooperative in Northern Rwanda (Gakenke District), where our Jabulani single origin is sourced.
Our presentation then takes the story of the beans from this Cooperative full-circle, highlighting sustainability and climate change action by explaining the roasting and packing process here at the Roastery in Ivybridge.
What are we doing to tackle climate change at The Roastery?
At Owens Coffee we support the aims of the Fairtrade Foundation and we are proud that 100% of our coffee range is certified Fairtrade and organic.
However, our commitment to sustainability, especially to supporting climate change action, goes further. Our Fairtrade Fortnight presentations will also address the audience with a series of topical issues relating to sustainability here in the UK: specifically single-use plastics, greenhouse gas emissions, and recycling.
We will discuss practices which we've put in place since 2010, including our endorsement of bio-plastic as a material, how we roast our coffee with our low-emissions eco-roaster and we'll consider the environmental issues we face with the packaging industry, who we lobby to work towards improved packaging solutions. Currently 100% recyclable, our coffee bags have to do the job of keeping our product fresh, whilst balancing the use of sustainable materials with improved transportation and delivery efficiencies to keep carbon footprints down, but we are always looking for new packaging innovations!
We are very much looking forward to having an opportunity to talk to young people and businesses in Devon over the coming weeks!