Dublin set to become Europe's first Fairtrade city by 2008
Sunday March 25 2007
The concept of Fairtrade is quite simple. It prevents certain traders from fixing unrealistically low prices that exploit the producers and force them into poverty.
The main Fairtrade products were initially coffee, tea and fruit, but cotton has taken over in this part of Europe. Shops such as Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, Next and Topshop have all increased demand for Fairtrade cotton, to the extent that demand is now exceeding supply.
Their cotton sales have gone up by around 3,000 per cent in value and 4,000 per cent in volume in the UK, where most of our high-street clothing labels are based.
Meanwhile, in Dublin the Fairtrade phenomenon is growing by 40 per cent per year. Those banners all along the quays and in the city centre a couple of weeks ago were to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight.
But Dublin City Council is going further than that, setting up a committee dedicated to making Dublin a bona fide 'Fairtrade city'.
The aim is to become the first European Fairtrade capital city by the end of 2008. The committee plans to make a wide range of the products available in shops as well as in schools nationwide, while Trinity College is leading the charge as Dublin's flagship business for the Fairtrade initiative.
In the UK, "fashion with a conscience" is now in vogue, on the catwalk and in the shops. The prevalence of ethically made clothing at the London Fashion Week last month marks the fusion between the fashion industry and morally acceptable production.
So does promotion by the right people. Designer Katharine Hamnett launched a range of jewellery and T-shirts during London Fashion Week to oppose child labour in the industry with the likes of model Lily Cole and Peaches Geldof sporting her designs. If the trend-setters continue to extol the virtues of these products, sales will grow well into the future.
And this trend, too, has reached our shores. In Dublin, the DCU Fashion Show, in aid of Irish Autism Action, will be showcased next Wednesday in the Helix. Most designers and labels used will be ones that use Fairtrade fabrics and clothing that was not manufactured in sweatshops or using child labour.
Tickets for the DCU Fashion Show are available from www.thehelix.ie or tel: (01) 700-7000; Katherine Hamnett's 'Save the Future' T-shirt is available from www.ejfoundation.org/
cotton
- Suhaila Kassim
