Fairtrade in York

Fairtrade fortnight, beginning on 1st March, seemed like a good opportunity to provide people with information about Fairtrade and where they can buy Fairtrade goods in the York area, including on campus. Fairtrade Fortnight will be a special one this year as the city of York becomes a Fairtrade city on 5th March, and our university is hoping to become a Fairtrade University some time this academic year.

As many of you know Fairtrade is about just that: giving growers and farmers in the developing world a fair price for their produce. This means that the growers and farmers receive enough to plough back (no pun intended) into the community. I was amazed at the range of Fairtrade goods that you can now buy (over 100 of them) and thankfully they are becoming more and more widely available.

For this issue I decided to ring up the coffee/tea shops in the York area to ask them whether they sold Fairtrade tea and/or coffee. However, I was somewhat disturbed that a significant minority of the shops that I rang (about 8) didn’t even know what Fairtrade was, let alone stock it!! Much education still to be done methinks.

After exhaustive investigation (and the York Fairtrade website) I can give you a list of where you can buy Fairtrade goods, and drink Fairtrade tea/coffee both on campus and in the York area. In forthcoming issues of Christis I intend to do a review of three or four coffee bars per issue and see if we can come up with York’s best Fairtrade coffee place. I know it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it. Until the next issue: cheers.

Anthony Armstrong

Useful Fairtrade Websites

Fairtrade UK website: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk

Where to buy Fairtrade in York: http://www.communigate.co.uk/york/fairtradeyork/page2.phtml

Maps of where to find Fairtrade shops in the York area: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~rc145/ft_maps.html

Cafes in York which serve Fairtrade tea/coffee

1. Starbucks; Davygate, Coney Street, Coppergate Centre, Designer Outlet, Stonegate
2. Spurriergate Centre; Spurriergate
3. Friargate Theatre; Friargate
4. Mazimaz; Micklegate
5. City Screen; Coney Street
6. Gateway Intenet Café; Swinegate
7. Pret a Manger; Parliament Street, Designer Outlet
8. The Mulberry Bush; Goodramgate
9. Piglets; Swinegate Court
10. El Piano; Grape Lane
11. Jorvik Centre Cafe; near Coppergate.
12. Bar Convent Cafe; Blossom StCafes on campus which serve Fairtrade

In addition, all cafes on campus serve Fairtrade products.

Shops which stock some Fairtrade goods

1. Fairer World; Gillygate
2. Alligator; Fishergate
3. Broadway Greengrocer; Fulford
4. Heslington Road News
5. Good Food Shop; Scarcroft Road
6. Tower Street Pantry
7. Jacksons; Fishergate, Bootham, Fulford Road
8. Tullivers; Colliergate
9. Shared Earth; Minster Gates
10. Fishers Newsagents; Fulford
11. Mala Carpets; Petergate
12. Brunswick Organic Nursery; Bishopthorpe
13. Tesco; Askham Bar, Clifton Moor
14. Sainsburys; Foss Bank, Monks Cross
15. Asda, Monks Cross
16. Co-op; Haxby, Copmanthorpe, Bishopthorpe, Dringhouses, Tang Hall, Heworth, Acomb, Beckfield Lane, Fulford, York Road
17. Budgens; Micklegate
18. Safeways; Acomb, Haxby
19. Woolworths; Monks Cross, Spurriergate
20. York SU Shop (Yourshop); University