Local coffee barista, Kylie Priestly, has no doubt that Manly locals have a conscience. Her sales of Toby's Estate organic Fair Trade coffees from Sumatra and East Timor have proven just that, taking off and keeping the locals very happy every Saturday morning at the Manly West Organic Markets.
These locals are part of a global revolution supporting Fair Trade. Introduced to Australia in 2003, the Fair Trade concept is an international movement that aims to ensure producers in developing countries are paid a fair price and offered long-term contracts to guarantee a sustainable livelihood for themselves, their families and their communities.
Already, sales of Fair Trade products have sky rocketed around Australia with Fair Trade certified coffee, tea and chocolate retail sales growing by 65% in 2006.
To celebrate, Fair Trade Fortnight 2007 kicked off on Saturday 28th April and is running until 13th May. The biggest ever promotion of Fair Trade in Australia and New Zealand, it is encouraging individuals and businesses to change their buying habits and support products carrying the Fair Trade mark, made easier with the increasing availability in Australia through retailers such as those at the Manly West Organic markets. Marking Fair Trade Fortnight, the market will also run taste testings and have information available on fair trade.
At the Markets, Australia's only fully certified member of the Organic Retailers and Growers Association of Australia, locals can buy Toby's Estate Organic Fair Trade coffees from Kylie. Cocolo Fair Trade chocolate, a Swiss chocolate sourced from Fair Trade Co-operatives in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic, is also available from the Nature's Pulse stall.
So why not change to Fair Trade products today, and change the lives of farmers and producers across the developing world.
