From the 18th-30th of September, Germany will be promoting everything Fairtrade, celebrating its fifth annual “Fairtrade Week”.

Thanks to the 2.5 million Germans that have started to buy Fairtrade products during 2005, the country can be placed high up in the European ranking of Fairtrade consumers, coming before Italy and Belgium. But in reality only 4–5% of German citizens are regular buyer and this has to change. The aim of this year’s Fairtrade events is to involve the young population, the consumers of the future’.

Under the slogan ” Fairness unifies” youths are invited to organise events. These have so far included football tournaments with Fairtrade footballs and mango-parties, where all the cocktails served are made with fair trade ingredients.

Suggestions of different things to do during week’ are described on the event’s website. Gepa, Europe’s biggest Fairtrade company is offering to distribute products to anyone who wishes to hold a Fair Break Time’ in their school or office. The first German company to import Fairtrade products, Gepa cooperates directly with producers in the Third World.

To raise Fairtrade awareness several cities in Germany are showing the documentary ” We Feed the World”, which describes the production of our food and attempts to answer the question “What does hunger in the world have to do with us?” Fairtrade products are available in the 800 world-shops spread around the country and also in a lot of supermarkets.

Contact:
www​.fairtrade​.org​.uk
www​.gepa​.de

Photo© Fairtrade Foundation