Chorlton Central Church

The Bible has a great deal to say about justice, much of it with a strikingly modern character. This includes:

Working Hours and Work / Life Balance
one of the Ten Commandments is that everyone - even domesticated farm animals! - has one day off per week

Consumer Protection
including weights and measures rules

Health and Safety
flat roofed buildings must have parapet walls to prevent people falling

Follow this link to read an address by Dr David Goodbourn, a member at Chorlton Central Church and an executive member of the Christian Aid board at the time when the Fairtrade Foundation was set up.

Stop Press

the world financial crisis is hitting third world producers and manufacturers hard, and consumers in the west are cutting back on their domestic expenditure at the same time

Please carry on buying Fair Trade goods if you possibly can;
this crisis - originating in the wealthiest nations - will increase trade inequalities and further impoverish the poorest nations

Chorlton Central Church is a Fair Trade Church

This means that

• tea and coffee, and so far as possible other goods and materials we use are obtained from suppliers and manufacturers whose products are certified as meeting the requirement of the Fair Trade Mark
• we support and publicise Fair Trade initiatives

... but, why ?

Many of the goods we purchase are manufactured or grown in Less Economically Developed Countries under conditions which would never be tolerated in the UK. How can we accept the low costs which arise from working conditions overseas that we would not accept for ourselves ?

The Fair Trade movement developed in response to this problem.

... so what can we do ?

Organisations like Traidcraft work to redress the balance by

Importing and selling goods and materials direct from manufacturers or growers

Paying them a guaranteed rate, generally above world prices, allowing them to invest in and develop their industry

Helping manufacturers and growers to develop health care and educational projects for their communities

Campaigning for changes to World Trade rules and practices

To find out more, click on the names to visit these websites:

Traidcraft

Traidcraft Online Shop

The Fair Trade Foundation

Make Poverty History

Fairtrade Shops in Manchester

Fairtrade Cafes and Restaurants in Manchester

image copyright of the Fair Trade Foundation, used by permission

Is this enough ?

No

But it is a start, and it is having some impact on the communities where it operates.

Changes are needed to international trading practices and rules.
Debt cancellation - which so far has not progressed nearly as quickly as was agreed at the G8 meeting in Scotland - needs to be completed.

The wealthier nations need to listen to manufacturers and growers who are being exploited.

Micro-credit

And perhaps we can make some direct difference when investing our own money.

Oikocredit was founded by the World Council of Churches in 1975 to provide a mechanism for Churches and their members to invest in way which would benefit the world's poorest by providing a source of credit. Oikocredit now has £200M invested, largely distributed as Micro-credit to micro entrepreneurs, subsistence farmers and the self-employed. Lack of collateral does not exclude borrowers from access to funding.

To find out about this Christian initiative follow this link;

Shared Interest is a UK based Co-Operative Lending Society that aims to reduce poverty in the world, by providing fair and just financial services. It was started in 1990 and has around 8,400 members who have invested more than £20 million. It uses the pooled savings of members to facilitate fair trade. Shared Trade works with fair trade businesses all over the world, both producers and buyers, providing credit to enable producers to be paid in advance and to help fair trade develop.

To find out more about Shared Interest follow this link;

revised 28 March 2009