Fair play to you (From Warrington Guardian)

Fair play to you

THE leader of the House of Lords has praised Warrington's commitment to promoting fair trade.

Baroness Valerie Amos was at the Gateway on Friday to hear about the town's bid for fair trade status.

She told the Warrington Guardian: "I was very pleased to see the commitment in the town. I am delighted also to see people wanting to know what they can do to make a real difference and how we can spend our money.

"People know that if we spend our money on fair trade products, it means that the farmers are getting a fair deal. That is something that is very important.

"If you feel you can go out and do something that pleasurable, but at the same time you are also making a contribution to something, it gives you a little glow."

Warrington officially launches its bid on February 22 at the Town Hall and the baroness' visit was seen as a major boost.

She met members of the Warrington Fair Trade steering group and told them: "There needs to be agreement in the message we are putting out. We need to get consumers to understand what the fair trade logo means."

The campaign to get fair trade status is not an easy one, as Baroness Amos told campaigners.

"We managed to persuade the House of Lords to use fairly traded coffee in the House of Lords, but then they did not like it," she explained.

"It's been withdrawn, but they still have it in the House of Commons."

Alan Clayton, chairman of Warrington Fair Trade steering group, said: "There are a certain number of shops selling fair trade goods. At the moment most of the supermarkets do, but the total number of outlets we have for a town the size of Warrington still falls short."