Wellington Deputy Mayor Justin Lester says yesterday’s event was a great success.
“The turnout was amazing, and feedback about Fairtrade Coffee was really positive,” he says. “It was all made possible through support from Office Max, L’Affare and Cerebos who deserve a huge thanks for supplying the products for free.”
The Fairtrade fortnight runs till next Sunday 22 May and there are a variety of events and pop up stalls around Wellington raising the awareness of Fair Trade and promoting Wellington businesses who stock and supply Fair Trade products.
Cr Iona Pannett says coffee is produced in 70 countries by 25 million farmers and the livelihood of 125 million people world-wide is dependent the coffee industry
“Fairtrade is ethically sound and farmers get a fair price for their produce and both the workers and the environment are safe guarded,” she says.
“By drinking Fairtrade certified coffee you support farmers and generate revenue that can be reinvested in their communities,”she says.
Fairtrade has laid down a challenge for Wellingtonians to drink as much Fairtrade coffee as possible over this coming weekend.
Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, pictured lending a hand at a Fair Trade free coffee stall in the Council public foyer with from left, Lily Kemble Welch, WCC, and Cory Hodges from L'Affare, says supporting Fairtrade is consistent with being a smart city.
In Wellington Fairtrade Coffee providers are L’Affare, People’s coffee, Tradeaid, Celcius, Havana and Inca Fe (available at Commonsense organics).
Wellington City Council has supported Fairtrade since 2009.