OUR diocese is poised to apply for Fairtrade status - meaning that it will gain an international reputation for giving a fair deal to Third World suppliers.

The Fairtrade Mark, now featured on more than 1,000 products as a guarantee that suppliers have received a fair price for their raw materials.

To apply for the status, our diocesan synod needed to pass a motion in favour of the move - which happened in July - and we needed to prove that enough of our parishes sold or used Fairtrade goods.

We now know that more than 50 of our 142 parishes do so, exceeding the requirement of one-third. Those parishes are listed below. If your parish uses or sells Fairtrade goods, but is not listed here, do contact Neil Pugmire on communications@portsmouth.anglican.org:

(Bishop’s Waltham deanery)

All Saints’, Botley; St Peter’s, Curdridge; Holy Cross, Durley; St Peter and St Paul’s, Hambledon; St Peter’s, Bishop’s Waltham; St Barnabas, Swanmore; St John the Baptist, Shedfield; St Nicholas’s Church, Wickham

(East Wight)

Holy Cross, Binstead; All Saints’, Godshill; St John’s, Ryde; St Alban’s, Ventnor; Holy Trinity, Ventnor; St Catherine’s, Ventnor

(Fareham)

Holy Trinity and St Columba’s, Fareham; St Peter and St Paul’s, Fareham; St John’s, Fareham; St John’s, Locks Heath; St Mary’s, Hook-with-Warsash; St Paul’s, Sarisbury Green;

(Gosport)

St Mary’s, Alverstoke; St Faith’s, Lee-on-the-Solent

(Havant)

St Wilfrid’s, Cowplain; St Andrew’s, Hayling Island; St Mary’s, Hayling Island; St Peter’s, Hayling Island; St Clare’s, Warren Park; All Saints’, Denmead; Hart Plain Church; St Faith’s, Havant

(Petersfield)

All Saints’, Steep; St Mary Magdalen, Sheet; St Mary’s, Bramshott & Liphook Church Centre; St Mary’s, Buriton; All Saints, East Meon

(Portsmouth)

St Cuthbert’s, Copnor; St Andrew’s and Church of the Resurrection, Farlington; St Mary’s, Fratton; St Nicholas’s, North End; St James’, Milton; St Saviour’s, Stamshaw; the Cathedral; Church of the Holy Spirit, Southsea; St Jude’s, Southsea; St Simon’s, Southsea; St Philip’s, Cosham

(West Wight)

All Saints’ Calbourne; St James’, East Cowes; St Mildred’s, Whippingham; St Mark’s, Wootton; All Saints’, Freshwater

Meanwhile the Isle of Wight has already been granted its status as a Fairtrade island. Simeon Green, from the Windward Islands Bananas Company, presented island MP Andrew Turner with the certificate in October.

It means that the Isle of Wight Council has backed Fairtrade principles and enough island supermarkets and cafes are selling Fairtrade products. It’s something that worshippers in our parishes and others have been working towards for years.

It happened at a celebration for 100 people held at the Isle of Wight College to coincide with One World Week. Guests included representatives from business, schools, charities and unions.

“The Fairtrade movement is happening because people of conscience are realising something isn’t right with the world,” said Simeon Green. “They see 840 million going to bed hungry, 30,000 children dying of curable causes a day, one billion people without clean drinking water. In a world of plenty, this is a scandal.

“People on the Isle of Wight are saying there is something they can do about it. It doesn’t involve marching or campaigning. It’s something you can do simply by changing the brands you buy.

“When you buy Fairtrade tea, you are making it possible for a child in Sri Lanka to have a piece of bread. When you buy Fairtrade bananas, a Caribbean child can have school books. When you buy Fairtrade chocolate, a child in Ghana can get medical attention. You are making a difference to people’s lives.”

And Andrew Turner MP said: “I want to congratulate everyone on the island who has worked so hard to get Fairtrade status. It’s the work of volunteers like you that makes a far greater difference than the work of people like me who are paid.”

Suppliers of products such as tea, coffee, chocolate and fruit often suffer economic ruin because of fluctuations in the world price for such goods. But Fairtrade goods guarantee a fair, minimum price for producers, as well as an extra ‘social premium’ which is invested in the local community. Those farmers also keep to stringent guidelines on environmental sustainability and employment. There are now more than 1,000 certified Fairtrade products in the UK, each of which carry the Fairtrade mark (pictured above).

The island’s campaign for Fairtrade status began 15 months ago, and the island’s Fairtrade Forum helped to make sure there were 30 retailers, 19 cafes and 49 other organisations, including many churches, using or selling Fairtrade products. For more information, see www.iwff.org.uk

Portsmouth and Southampton already have Fairtrade city status, and groups in Havant, East Hampshire and Fareham are also working towards becoming Fairtrade zones.

For more information about Fairtrade in general, see: www.fairtrade.org.uk